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THE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



WiNFiELD Scott Hancock, 



MAJOR-GENERAL, U. S. A. 



By FREDEPaCK E. GOODRICH. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

Hon. FREDERICK O. PRINCE, 

Mayor of the City of Boston, and Secretary of the 
National Democratic Committee. 




{{ j\\ //^^9 



BOSTOl*^ 

PUBLISHED BY LEE &, SHEPARD, 

Philadelphia, Quaker City Publishing House. 

New York, Charles Drew. 

Indianapolis, Ind., Fred. L. IIorton & Co. 

Chicago, J. Fairbanks & Co. 

1880. 






Copyright, 
B. B. RUSSELL & CO., 
1880. 



Weight & Potter 1'kinting Company, 18 Post Office Square Boston. 



CM 



TO THE PEOPLE 

OF A REUNITED COUNTRY 

THIS STORY or 

A PATRIOTIC LIFE 

Is Dedicated. 



( 



X2 



Part I.— BOY AND MAN. 
Part II.— THE S0LDIP:R. 
Part III.— THE PATRIOT. 
Part IV.— THE STATESMAN. 



PREFACE. 



To tell the story of the life of a successful general is to 
recite a romance. Hard and cruel as the work of war may 
be in reahty, it is only while it is doing that its hardships and 
its roughnesses are seen. "When it is done, the glory of the 
result smooths the crudenesses, and gilds the dark places, and 
rounds the whole into a picturesque completeness. The love 
of conflict is as much a part of human nature as the love of 
peace ; and delight in tales of war lies deep down in man's 
heart. Stories of heroes and of saints, of warfare temporal 
and spiritual, fonu the earliest literature of mankind. 

But when to this is added the element of patriotism, and 
the successful warrior is one who fights not alone for glory or 
for the love of fighting, but for the love of country, a new 
zest is given the chronicle of his deeds. And when, still 
further, this love of country is the love of a free, popular 
government, — when the struggle is for the sake of liberty 
and for maintaining the will of the people, — the soldier in 
such a cause becomes a hero, whether successful or not. 

The subject of this sketch is such a hero, and a most suc- 
cessful one. But, great as is his glory in war, the impartial 
historian will accord him at least equal honor for the display 
of rare administrative talent in civil aflairs, — most rare, 
indeed, in connection vrith such superlative military genius 
as he has shown. 



8 / PREFACE. 

In writing the life of this patriot, soldier, and statesman, 
the only embarrassment is that of a superabundance of ma- 
terial. His life has been one long romance of duty well per- 
formed, filled with adventure, with great deeds, and with 
noble actions. To select from the history of the American 
RepubUc during the past forty years such facts as may show 
the part which General Hancock has taken in the work of 
making and saving our country is the purpose of the writer 
of this volume. Much has to be left untold in the limits of a 
work of this sort. It is sought simply to show the man as 
he appears in the history of his country. 

In collecting facts for this work, especial care has been 
taken to secure absolute authenticit}' ; and the author ac- 
knowledges his indebtedness to the courtesy of Hon. B. E. 
Chain and Hon. B. M. Boj-er, of Norristown, Penn., inti- 
mate companions of the boy Winfield and trusted friends of 
the General ; to Gen. William B. Franklin, Gen. St. Clair 
A. MuUiolland, Gen. George H. Gordon, Hon. George L. 
Thorndike, and others of his companions in arms ; to Town- 
send Ward, Esq., Secretary of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania, and to many others. The story of General 
Hancock's public services is chiefly taken from the official 
reports and documents of Congress and the War Depart- 
ment ; and, among unofficial sources, from Moore's " Record 
of the RebeUion," Greeley's "American Conflict," and Swin- 
ton's "Army of the Potomac" and "Twelve Great Battles." 

F. E. G. 

Independence Square, 
Boston, July 15, 1880 



COISrTEl!TTS. 



Page. 
pRErACE, lilt > . . 7 

Introduction, .......••>. 13 

Fart I. — Boy and Man. 

Chapter I. — The Hancock Family. — Its Services in the War of the 
Revolution. — Marriage of Benjamin F. Hancock and Settlement in 
Norristown, Penn. — Early Struggles of the Young Couple. — 
School-Teaching and Law. — Education of the Twins, Winheld 
and Hilary, 21 

Chapter II. — Birth and Boyhood. — His Name, and its Influence 
upon his Career. — The School-boys' Train-band — Captain Win- 
field. — The Champion of the Weak. — Anecdotes of his School- 
days, 28 

Chapter III. — One of Winfield Hancock's Chums. — His Home Life. 
— A Student in Norristown Academy. — The Baptist Sunday-School. 
— A Cadet at West Point. — How he was appointed. — His Class- 
mates, 34 

Part II.— The Soldter. 

Chapter I. — Lieutenant Hancock enters the Sixth Infantry. — 
Protectiug the Advance Guard of White Settlers. — The Outbreak 
of the Mexican War. — Hancock's Request to be ordered to the 
Front. — He is sent to Mexico. — He begins to make a Record, 45 

Chapter II. — Battle of Churubusco. — The Advance upon the City 
of Mexico. — General Worth's Brigade ordered to carry the Forti- 
fication. — Lieutenant Hancock's Company Leads the Charge. — 
The Repulse. — Lieutenant Hancock wins his first Brevet for Gal- 
lantry in Action, 53 

Chapter HI. — Molino del Rey. — Situation of Scott's Army before 
the City of Mexico — Lieutenant Hancock again foremost in the 
Post of Danger. — He leads his Compauy against the Battery at 
Molino del Roy. — Hancock saved amid the Carnage, . . 5i) 

Chapter IV. — Chapultepec. — Hancock describes his Feelings while 
confined to the House by Fever. — The Entry into the City of 
Mexico. — Lieutenant Hancock's Letters Home. — End of the 
War, 65 

Chapter V. — Lieutenant Hancock Returns to the Department of 
tlie West. — He becomes Regimental Quartermaster, and then 
Adjutant. — His Marriage at St Louis. — The Seminole War. — 
Brigham Young's Declaration of Independence. — Hancock Or- 
dered to California, 70 

(9) 



10 CONTENTS. 

Part III. — The Patriot. 

Chapter I. — The Fire upon Sumter.— How the News was received 
iu Ccalifornia. — Captain Hancock's Etibrts to keep the State in 
the Union. — He asks to be ordered into Active Service, . . 79 

Chapter H, — The Peninsular Campaign. -^ Siege and Capture of 
Yorktown. — The Battle of Williamsburg. — Hooker Repulsed at 
Fort Magruder. — Hancock Turns the Enemy's Flank, . . 85 

Chapter III. — Hancock again Brevotted for Gallantry. — His Work 
in the Preliminaries- of the Peninsular Campaign. — Military Dis- 
cipline. — Eaids upon the Virginia Farms. — Mr. Volliu, . 94 

Chapter IV. — The Advance towards Richmond, — Battle of the 
Chickahominy. — Golding's Farm. — Hancock repulses Toombs' 
Assault. — He holds the Enemy at Bay at White Oak Swamp, 100 

Chapter V. — Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia. — Hancock 
joins in the Movement to Centreville. — McClellan's Maryland 
Campaign against Lee. — Forcing Crampton's Pass. — Autietam. — 
Hancock takes Command of a Division, 106 

Chapter VI. — Fredericksburg. — Opening the Campaign of the Rap- 
pahannock. — Hancock receives his Commission as Major-General of 
Volunteers. — He Commands a Division on the March to Fredericks- 
burg. — Hancock Wounded, 112 

Chapter VII. — Chancellorsville. — " Fighting Joe " Hooker in com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. — Hancock again leads his 
Division across the Rappahannock. — Occupation of Chancellors- 
ville. — Hancock takes Command of the Second Corps, . . 118 

Chapter VIII. — The March to Gettysburg. — Lee Resolves upon an 
Invasion of the North. — Hooker's Resignation. — The Camp on the 
Rappahannock broken up. — Hancock's Corps the Rear Guard, 1"23 

Chapter IX. — Gettysburg. — The First Day. — Meade arrives at 
Taneytown. — The Advance Guard strikes the Enemy. — "For 
God's Sake send up Hancock." — Meade puts Hancock in command 
at the Front. — He Selects the Battle-ground, .... 130 

Chapter X. — Gettysburg. — The Second Day. — Hancock in com- 
mand at the Left Centre. — Sickles's Corps cut up. — Hancock 
to the Rescue. — The Absolution of the Irish Brigade. — Fight 
for the Ridge in front of the Wheat-lield, .... 139 

ChapterXI. — Gettysburg.— The Tbird Day. — The Storm of Fire. 

— Hancock's Wonderful Deed of Valor. — The Final Desperate As- 
sault of the Confederates. — Hancock Beats them Back. — Struck 
Down in the Moment of Victory, 146 

Chapter XII. — After Gettysburg. — General Meade's Report. — 
Hancock's Fight " Terminated the Battle." — His Opinion of the 
Battle and its Results. — Hancock's Wound. — The Surgeon's 
Story. — His Journey Home. — Invalid Soldiers carry him on their 
Shoulders to his Father's House. — He Returns to Duty, . 154 

Chapter XIII. — The Wilderness. — Grant takes Command of all the 
Arnii(;s. — Hancock Leads the Advance. — The Story of One of the 
gallant Second Corps. — Hancock leads the Charge, . . 1(J4 



CONTENTS. 11 



Chapter XIV. — Spottsylvania. — Hancock fislits the Battle of the 
Po. — General Sedgwick's Death. — The Bloodiest Battle of the 
War. — Hancock Takes and Holds the Famous " Salient Angle." — 
Hancock's Ketort, 171 

Chaj^teu XV. — Cold Harbor. — The March from Spottsylvania 
toward Riclimond. — A Race between Two Armies. — Hancock 
liuds Lee at the North Anna. — He Carries the Bridge, . . 17S 

Chapter XVI. — Petersburg. — Hancock Celebrates Bunker-hill Day. 

— He Leads Successful Movements. — His Old "Wound Reopens. — 
The Explosion of the Petersburg Mine, 184 

Chapter XVII. — About Petersburg. — Hancock Commands at Deep 
Bottom. — Promotion. — His Horse shot under him at Reams' Sta- 
tion. — Battle of the Boydtou Plank Road. — Reci'uiting a Veteran 
Corps. — Brevet Major-Greneral for Gallantry at Spottsylvania. — 
In command of the Middle Military Division when Lee Sur- 
renders, 190 

Chapter XVIII. — Hancock as a Commander. — The, Love and Ad- 
miration of his Soldiers for their General. — General Walker de- 
scribes his Character and Habits. — Custer Sketches him at 
Williamsburg. — The Secret of Hancock's Genius, . . 195 

Part IV. — The Statesman. 

Chapter I. — Hancock's Character. — How it Developed under the 
Iiiflueiico of liis Career. — A Man of the People. — His Strong Pur- 
pose iii I^ife. — The Discipline of Army Service. — His Admiuistra- 
tivo Ability. — A Well-rounded Character, .... 206 

Chapter II. — Assassination of President Lincoln. — Arrest and Trial 
of the Conspirators. — Execution of Mrs. Surratt. — Charges oi 
Cruelty against General Hancock. — Mrs. Surratt's Counsel makes 
a Statement. — Also her Spiritual Adviser. — General Hancock's 
Tenderness toward the Unfortunate Woman and her Daughter. 

— He posts Couriers to Carry a Pardon, 214 

Ch.^pter III. — Hancock again at the West. — He is Called back to 

take Command of the Fifth Military District. — Sketch of the Prog- 
ress of Reconstruction. — The Quarrel between the Executive and 
Congress. — The South Divided up into Satrapies. — Sheridan Re- 
moved, and Hancock Called to take his Place, .... 231 

Chapter IV. — Hancock takes Command of the Fifth Military Dis- 
trict. — His Reception at Washington. — The vast Powers placed 
in his Hands. — His Opening Proclamation. — The Famous " Order 
No. 40."— Judge Black's Letter, 24C 

Chapter V. — Reception of "General Order No. 40." — Civil Gov- 
ernment Resumes its Sway. — The Laws to be Sustained by the 
Military Arm. — The Qualifications of Jurors. — Disposition of 
Property by the Coni'ts. — Registration of Voters, . . . 249 

Chapter VI. — General Hancock and the Carpet-Baggers. — He reada 
Governor Pease ii Lecture on Constitutional Government. — His 
Refusal to Su[)plant the Courts by Military Commissions. — Ripa- 
rian Rights not to be Adjudicated upon by Courts-Martial, . 264 



12 CONTENTS. 

Chapter VII. — Troops at the Polls. — Hancock's Famous Order. — 
Hancock Declines to use his Troops for the Collection of Taxes. — 
He Instructs Governor Pease in the Art of Law and of Civil Gov- 
ernment. — Hancock's Letter to General Howard, . . . 274 

Chapter VIII. — The Carpet-Baggers protest against Civil Govern- 
ment. — Governor Pease's Open Letter. — General Hancock's Reply. 
— Congress attempts to get rid of Hancock. — Grant revokes Han- 
cock's Orders. — Hancock's Resignation, 233 

Chapter IX. — Hancock's Consistent and Patriotic Democracy. — His 
California Speech in 1861. — His Acts in 1868.— The Democratic 
Convention of 1888. — Hancock the Loading Candidate. — The 
Couventiou of 1876. — Ho Again Receives a Large Vote, . . 302 

Chapter X. — The Cincinnati Couventiou of 1880. — Dauiel Dough- 
erty of Philadelphia nominates General Hancock. — Speech of 
Governor Hubbard of Texas, Seconding the Nomination. — Han- 
cock nominated ou the Second Ballot. — Speeches, . . . 315 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF mi H. ENGLISH. 

Chapter I. — Parentage of William H. English. — Sound Democratic 
Stock. — Admitted to Practice in the United States Supreme Court 
at the Age of Twenty-three. — He enters Politics in the Polk Cam- 
paign. — Elected to the Legislature. — Chosen Speaker of the 
House, 329 

Chapter II. — Election to Congress. — The Famous Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill and Mr. English's action Thereon. — The "Popular Sover- 
ei"-utv" Idea. — Congress. — Labor against Know-Nothingism. — 
The ''English Bill," 333 

Chapter HI. — Letter from President Buchanan. — The Shadow of 
the Civil War. — Mr. English's Position. — Retirement from Public 
Life. — Founder of the First National Bank of Indianapolis. — 
Views ou the Money Question, 350 

Chapter IV. — The Democratic National Convention of 1880. — The 
Nomination of Hancock for President is followed by that of Eng- 
lish for Vice-President. — Speech of Acceptance, . . . 3G3 



APPENDIX. 

General Hancock's Letter of Acceptance, 
Mr. English's Letter of Acceptance, 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Steel Portrait of Major-General Hancock, 
Steel Portrait of Hon. William H. English, 
Hancock's Early Home at Norristowu, Pa., . 

Foraging Party, 

Antietani, 

Crossing the Rapidan, 

Cavalry Charge, 

Geu. Hancock's Residence at Governor's Island, 



, , 


, 


368 


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371 


Frontispiece 




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111 


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165 


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179 


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315 



IE"TEODUOTION. 



No history of the great civil war can be "wi'itten 
without reciting the brilliant military record of Major- 
General Winfield Scott Hancock. Educated in the 
military ai-t at West Point, trained in the application 
of military principles to practice in the Mexican war, 
where he was brevetted for gallant and meritorious 
conduct, he had attained the age and the experience 
which make an accomplished soldier, at the commence- 
ment of what proved to be the greatest and most ter- 
rible war of ancient or modern times. 

His gallantry and skill were shown on many of the 
hardest fought battle-fields, — at Williamsburg, Fra- 
zer's Farm, South INIountain, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna, the second 
battle of Cold Harbor, and the operations around 
Petersburg. It may be said that he took a prominent 
part in every important battle fought in the East, and 
thus largel}' contributed to the success of our arms 
and the restoration of the Union of the States. 

The fame of this distinguished commander is secure. 
It is recognized not only l)y liis grateful countrymen, 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

but in all lands where military talent and genius are 
appreciated, and courage, fortitude, and the martial 
virtues recognized and honored. There is, and can be, 
no question of his rank as a great soldier. Xone chal- 
lenge it. His title is clear, cei-tain, and indisputable. 
Time, which levels so much and qualifies so often and 
so largely the claims of the great men of history, will 
never disturb his right to the niche in the temple of 
fame accorded to him by his contemporaries. His 
military services have been so recently rendered, that 
their mention is not necessary for the information of 
his countrymen, for they know them by heart. But 
there is a part of his life and history not shown in his 
public record, nor in his achievements on the battle- 
field, which the people must now desire to know ; as 
the great Democratic party — the party which the elo- 
quent Choate declared, "bore the national flag and 
kept step to the music of the Union" — has, through 
its representatives, unanimously nominated him as its 
candidate for the Presidency. They know him as the 
brave, brilliant, and successful soldier ; but they have 
had no opportunities to learn the other sides of his 
character, nor those many qualities of head and heart 
which largely led to his nomination, and which emi- 
nently fit him for the discharge of the duties of the 
great office to which he will undoul^tcdl}^ be elected in 
November next. To supply fhe popular demand for 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

such information, it has been proposed to give, in the 
pages which follow, a brief sketch of the private us well 
as public life of this distinguished citizen. 

It will bo generally conceded that there is a growing 
objection in the public mind to military candidates for 
the Presidency. This feeling doubtless comes from fear 
of the repetition of the cases, with which history 
bristles, of usurpation by successful soldiers of the 
executive power to the overthrow of constitutional gov- 
ernment. Nor i§ it surprising that these usurpations 
occur. In war, the laws arc silent ; and the soldier, 
substituting his will as authority, recognizes no instru- 
ment for the attainment of his objects but force. 
When war ceases, ho naturally submits with reluctance 
to a return to the methods of the civil power for ad- 
ministering government, and if his army is devoted to 
him, the temptation to seize upon power is often too 
great for resistance. Whether in this age of popular 
intelligence, and with a people possessed of ample 
means for combination and resistance to a coup d'clat, 
all such apprehension is to be deemed groundless, it 
will not be necessary now to consider. In the case of 
General Hancock, the objection that he is a soldier 
must dissipate, for his honest and patriotic conduct 
after the surrender of Lee and the termination of the 
war, in recogrnizino- the rights of our citizens under the 
Consliiution, showed most conclusively that he had nO 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

disposition, if he had the power, to act the rule of the 
conqueror : that Washington, the Father of his 
Country, and not Napoleon, was his inspiration and 
guide. There is nothing nobler or more sublime in 
history than the conduct of this hero of a hundred bat- 
tles, on the occasion referred to. His letter to Gov- 
ernor Pease, of Texas, in 1868, when commanding the 
Fifth Military District, wherein he completely subor- 
dinates the military to the civil power in time of peace, 
will alone render his name illustrious and forever dear 
to all who love civil liberty. When the judgment of 
mankind shall be elevated and refined by a higher civil- 
ization, so that it shall the more truly adjust the claims 
of its benefactors to the rewards of heroic conduct, this 
patriotic surrender of the great soldier to the suprem- 
acy of the civil law will add more to his fame than all 
his great military achievements. 

Let it be remembered that the action of General 
Hancock was in opposition to his official superiors at 
Washington, who for political and partisan purposes 
wished to keep the South under military control, with 
no rights that a Republican was bound to respect. Let 
it be remembered that he imperilled his official and pro- 
fessional life by this sacred respect for right and pat- 
riotic regard for law, and our admiration augments, 
and we feel that whatever fear of detriment to the Re- 
public might obtain, should any other of oar successful 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

generals become President, there could be no danger 
in placing him in the chair once occupied by Washing- 
ton, who had shown himself possessed of equal moder- 
ation, and equal respect for the Constitution and the 
laws of the country. 

It is a curious fact that, notwithstanding the sup- 
posed popular distrust of military men for Presidents, 
so large a number should have been elected to this high 
office : Washington, Monroe, Jackson, Harrison, Tay- 
lor, Pierce, Grant, and Hayes were all soldiers, and 
were mostly selected as candidates because of their 
military record. When we consider the functions and 
duties of the executive, it would seem that a soldier, 
accomplished in his art, would l)e eminently fitted for 
the discharge of these duties ; and, but for the popu- 
lar apprehension before alluded to, the military quali- 
ties, instead of being an objection, would be regarded 
as a quaUfication in a supreme magistrate. 

There is this advantage in favor of selecting Presi- 
dents from the military profession. They are not as 
likely to be committed to any partisanship touching 
political questions, beyond a general endorsement of 
the principles of the party to which they adhere. 
Their professional position keeps them outside of party 
feuds and dissensions, and enables them to take broad- 
er and, as it were, more judicial views of political 
questions and measures than those laymen who, to 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

become sufficiently prominent to be candidates for tlie 
high office, must make politics a profession. 

In applying this observation to General Hancock, 
we might observe that, while he endorses the platform 
of principles adopted by the Cincinnati Convention 
and approves the general policy of the Democratic 
party in respect to the important issues of the cam- 
paign, in doing so he is not called to modify previous 
opinions inconsistent with these principles, nor ex- 
plain any former action antagonistic thereto. He vrill 
enter upon the discharge of the great trust which the 
people will commit to him in March, free of all ol)li- 
gations, and relieved of every influence which might 
embarrass or fetter him. He has been always noted 
for his energy, industry, perseverance, fortitude, and 
patience. His intelligence, good judgment and sagac- 
ity are well-known. His knowledge of men has been 
conspicuously shown in the selection of his staff offi- 
cers, as he has always surrounded himself with able 
assistants who well understood the work wanted from 
them. We are warranted in believing from his action 
in this respect that, should he become President, he 
will call to his aid cabinet advisers who will know their 
duty and be competent to discharge it. Right men 
will be put in the right places. The public interests 
will not suffer through official appointments made for 
political service only, nor will the country be longer 



INTEODUCTION. 19 

disgraced by the swarms of bummers who for years 
have infested every department of the government. 

In looking through the life of General Hancock, 
we find, from the time he left West Point Acad- 
emy, during all his military career, in war and in 
peace, he has exhibited peculiar aptitude for the du- 
ties of an executive officer. Possessing in an emi- 
nent degree what is termed "character," his official 
conduct seems to have been always guided by fixed 
principles. He first seeks to find what duty re- 
quires in the matter before him, and, this ascer- 
tained, he enters at once upon the performance of the 
requisition. Without doubt, the nature of the military 
profession fosters and develops this habit of mind. We 
may say that he is eminently a man of convictions, 
with the courage of his convictions ; but not obstinate 
in temper, nor unyielding, if good reasons be shown for 
a change of opinion. He is in every respect a most 
available candidate. There is nothing in his record 
which we are called to defend. We can abandon our 
shields in this contest, for we have no use for them. 
He is popular with all sections. His nomination satisfies 
equally the North and the South. He has united into 
a compact body a divided Democracy, and so acceptable 
is he to large numbers of our political opponents that 
we find Independent Eepublican Hancock organizations 
springing up in nearly all the States. 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

We have spoken of him as certain to be elected, not 
only because this seems to be the general conviction, 
but because we feel that since such happy results would 
follow his election, it must occur that the fitness of 
things may be maintained. With General Hancock as 
President of the United States, all the hideous past 
would be buried forever. Demao;oo:ues would cease 
their devilish work of keeping the sections hostile by 
rekindling sectional animosities. Amity and fraternal 
regard would make us again one people. The era of 
good feeling would return, and the issue settled by war, 
"an indestructible union of indestructible States," 
everywhere recognized. 

FREDEEICK O. PEINCE. 
Boston, July 12, 1880. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



:f> j^ I^ T I 



BOY a:n"d mak 



CIL^TER I. 

The Hancock Family. — Its Services in the War of tlie Eevolution. 
— Marriage of Benjamin F. Hancock and Settlement in Norris- 
town, Penn. — Early Struggles of the Young Couple. — School- 
Teaching and Law. — Education of the Twins, Winfield and 
Hilary. — Character and Public Services of the Father of General 
Hancock. 

Early in the year 1828, a little family moved into 
the village of Norristown, Penn., from the farming 
country near by, and set up their modest household. 
This family consisted of Benjamin F. Hancock, his 
wife Elizabeth, and their twin sons. The boys, Win- 
field Scott Hancock and Hilary B. Hancock, were at 
that time four years old. 

Both ftither and mother came of the farming families 
of Montgomery County. Their English ancestors had 
lived upon the soil in the old country ; their fathers 
and grandfathers had found more bountiful subsistence 
in the cultivation of the broad meadows along the 
Schuylkill and the rich intervales of the new land which 
they had possessed and made free ; Benjamin F. Han- 
cock was himself a farmer ; Elizabeth Hexworth was a 
farmer's daughter. 

It was a sturdy, patriotic stock, and it flourished in 
a section crowded with patriotic memories. German- 
town, Brandy wine. Valley Forge, Paoli, are names 
indissolubly associated with the history of our struggle 



24 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

for independence as a Republic ; and it was among the 
associations clustering about these places that the Han- 
cock family grew up. 

These associations, too, were interwoven with their 
family history. The grandfather of Elizabeth Hancock 
was one of the patriot farmers of the Revolution. He 
won and honorably carried a captain's commission in 
Washington's army, and gave his life for his country, 
dying of the effect of hardships and privations in the 
field shortly after he saw the land made free for his 
children. Her father, Edward Hexworth, although a 
boy in his teens, also joined the patriot army, and 
fought by the side of his father, returning to enjoy 
the fruits of the liberty for which he had given his 
youthful strength and enthusiasm. He attained great 
age, dying Jan. 29, 1847, upwards of 90 j^ears old. 
Benjamin F. Hancock's father, Richard Hancock, was 
a mariner. He was captured at sea, and, with so many 
other patriots, was given the choice of service against 
his country in the British navy, or consignment to the 
notorious Dartmoor Prison, whose name was a terror. 
He chose the patriot's part, and did not pass the double 
barricades of that melancholy enclosure until the close 
of the war. On his release, he returned to free 
America. In the war of 1812, when the British ad- 
vanced their troops as far as Red Bank, and the safety 
of Philadelphia and all the towns in that section was 
threatened, Benjamin F. Hancock himself, then a mere 
lad, made one of the local company that garrisoned 
Camp Dupont. 

This was the family whose youngest members took 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 25 

up their residence in Norristown in 1828. It was good 
stock, — of the people, of the soil ; it had the traditions 
of earnest patriotism and honest labor ; with neither 
crest nor pedigree, it held a place in the peerage of the 
Republic. 

Benjamin F. Hancock, although born in Philadel- 
phia, was brought up as a farmer ; and it was while 
farming in the country near Montgomeryville that he 
paid his suit to Elizabeth Hexworth, a farmer's daugh- 
ter, and won her for his wife. Even at the time of his 
marriage he had aspirations for a different career, and 
with quiet earnestness he set himself to accomplish it. 
lie had no means of his oAvn ; his support, and that of 
his family, was the income that his own labor brought 
him. Farmer Hexworth was a man of moderate prop- 
erty, comfortably well off, but not of wealth sufficient 
to endow his daughter on her marriage. Indeed, such 
was not the custom among the farmers of Pennsylva- 
nia. The man who took vipon himself the responsi- 
bilities of marriage was expected to know his ability to 
provide for his own. So the young couple set out in 
life dependent upon themselves, confident and brave. 
The husband, whose education was above the average, 
turned his talent to account in teaching a country 
school. The wife attended to domestic duties. 

Then the children came ; and, under his increasing 
responsibilities, the father was impelled to push for- 
ward more rapidly in the career which he had marked 
out for himself. His ambition was not great ; but his 
purpose was steady : it was to place his children in a 
better position for starting in life than he had occupied. 



26 LITE AND PUBLIO SERVICES OF 

This it was that led him to remove to Norristown, where 
there were oppoi-tunities for advancing himself and for 
educating his boys. 

In Norristown, with their young family, Benjamin 
Hancock and his wife began their new life in a most 
modest way. They were "poor ; but they both had 
confidence in themselves. The husband continued to 
teach school in Norristown, and meantime studied law 
in the office of John Friedley, Esq. The wife, who 
was a true helpmeet, bravely took her share in the 
work of supporting the family, and opened a milUncr's 
store in the house ; turning her talent, taste, and dex- 
terity to the best account in aid of her hard-worldng 
husband. Benjamin F. Hancock was admitted to the 
Montgomery County bar at Norristown, Aug. 19, 1828 ; 
and, long after this, the wife continued her occupation 
as milliner in pleasant rooms on one side of the house, 
while the husband carried on his law business in his 
office on the opposite side. 

The Hancock family prospered, as they must have 
prospered with such earnest endeavor. Another son 
was born. The father was appointed justice of the 
peace ; and, while yet young, he began to receive proofs 
of the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens, 
which naturally followed from his upright life. He 
was a quiet, unassuming man, of sterling abilit}^ and 
great integrity. In his profession he was a counsellor, 
rather than a barrister ; and he was much sought for 
such business. Many were the trusts committed to 
his hands ; his character for uprightness standing high 
even in a borough whose lawyers have a proverbial 



WESTFEELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 27 

reputation for honesty, and his strong good sense 
finding recognition from all his fellow-citizens. 

One matter in which he took a special and active 
interest was public education. When he established 
himself in Norristown, the free-school system was not 
known in the State. Squire Hancock thoroughly be- 
lieved in the system, — not as a pedagogue, but as a 
practical man who had himself taught children, and 
who had children of his own to educate. He was an 
earnest promoter of free public schools ; and, when the 
school law was passed, he devoted his energies at once 
to the work of securing its advantages for his town, 
and accomplished as much as any other man in the 
formation and arrangement of the school system in 
Norristown. His own boys, whom he was educating 
at a private academy in the town, were taken out, and 
sent to the public schools ; and by example as well as 
by labor he urged the development of the system. 
From 1836 until his death, a period of thirty-one 
years, he was a prominent and active member of the 
School Board of Norristown. 

Mr. Hancock was further honored by the appoint- 
ment as Collector of Internal Eevenue by President 
Johnson, — a position which he held at the time of his 
death. He lived to see his son Hilary established in 
his own profession as a practising lawyer, his son John 
a colonel of volunteers in the war of the Rebellion, and 
"VVinfield wearing the stars of a major-general in the 
United States army. He died on the 1st of Febru- 
ary, 1867, leaving to his children as the chief part of 
their inheritance the example of an honorable, Christian 
life. Mrs. Hancock survived her husband twelve years. 



28 LIFE AND PDBUO SEEVICES OP 



CHAPTEE II. 

Birth and Boyliood. — His Name, and its Influence upon his Career. 
— The School-boys' Train-hand. — Captain Winfield. — The Cham- 
pion of the Weak. — Anecdotes of his School-days. — How ho Met 
a Schoolmate in after Years. 

Winfield Scott Hancock, son of Benjamin F. and 
Elizabeth Hancock, was born near Montgomery ville, 
Penn., on the 14th of February, 1824. His name was 
given him, not because of any relationship with the 
general who at that time held so high a popularity, but 
from admiration of the man. The Hancock family, on 
both the father's and the mother's side, had military 
traditions ; and the influence of this may have had 
its effect in the choice of a name for one of the twin 
boys who came to the young couple that February day 
in the little farm-house in Montgomery County. 

There is much in a name, especially when associated 
with hereditary tendencies ; and it can hardly be 
doubted that in this case the career of the young Penn- 
sylvanian was in some degree determined by the name 
which he bore. It is, of course, natural to expect that, 
after the development of such exceptional military 
genius in the man, incidents of his boyhood should be 
recalled which seem to show that the bent of his mind 
was always in that direction. General Hancock's 
friends and school-mates tell with peculiar zest of the 
school-boy militia that used to train under his captain- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 29 

ship. They describe the wooden muskets with tin 
bayonets, the paper hats, and the home-made uniforms 
and flags, that distinguished their soldiery, and recount 
the parades and the drills in which they participated 
under the budding commander of thousands. 

But it may be considered doubtful whether young 
Hancock really had any more than the usual boyish 
fondness for military display. One fact, however, is 
quite evident ; and this is, that even at an early age he 
showed the talent for leadership which developed to 
such a remarkable degree in the man. He was not 
only the captain of the school-boys' train-band, but the 
leader in sports, the chosen referee in boyish disputes. 
It was the frequent course, in case of a diflerence 
between the boys, for them to " leave it out to Win- 
field." And Winfield usually settled it with expedi- 
tion, and with a good deal of sound common-sense. 
Gray-headed members of that juvenile militia company 
now relate with a chuckle — as illustrating Winfield's 
readiness in an emergency — how he quelled insubor- 
dination that threatened to become a mutiny, by order- 
ing the ringleaders to report at home to their mothers. 
Discipline was restored at once. 

The boy Winfield was tall and slim, with no indica- 
tions of his present figure ; and, indeed, he retained 
this physique until after he returned from the war. He 
was sound in body, mind, and morals ; for his home 
was a Christian one, and all the influences about the 
household of the Hancocks were wholesome and manly. 
One of his distinguishing traits was an entire absence 
of fear in doing what he considered his duty. He 



30 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

would tolerate no bullying of tlie smaller boys when 
he was about. As one of his school-mates says, "If a 
big boy undertook to worry a small boy, he'd find 
Winfield atop of him in short order." 

Another story runs thus : There was a tumult among 
the boys returning home from school one day, just in 
front of Lawyer Hancock's office. The scuffle devel- 
oped into a stand-up fight between two of the young- 
sters, which brought Mr. Hancock to his office door, as 
he recoo-nized Winfield in one of the combatants. 

"Come here, my son," called the father, in his inva- 
riably calm manner. 

The bo}'" walked directly up to the office door, and 
with flushed face looked his father straight in the eye. 

"What is the matter, Winfield?" asked Mr. Han- 
cock. 

" That big boy tried to whip me," was the reply, 
"and I wasn't going to let him." 

"But he is a great deal larger than you, my son." 

" I know he is, father ; but I can't let him whip me." 

The boy's persistence in his purpose of establishing 
the principle of equality had, however, to yield to the 
paternal judgment of the fitness of things, and the 
combat was closed then and there. 

Reverence for parental authority was a characteristic 
of young Hancock, and so was filial affection. His 
mother — whom he venerated through life, and deeply 
mourned when death removed her to rest beside her hus- 
band and General Hancock's only daughter in the quiet 
cemetery of Norristown — used to relate with happy 
pride an incident in point. It was when the twins 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 31 

were yet young that one evening she was left alone 
by the necessary absence of the father on public busi- 
ness until a late hour. She was engaged on some 
household work ; but she noticed that she was never 
alone. When bedtime came for the twins, one of them 
went, the other remained. After the lapse of an hour, 
the one who had been sitting quietly with her left the 
room, and the other came in to take his place. She 
found that the little fellows had, of their own motion, 
decided that mother was not to be left to sit up alone 
all that long evening, and had organized a watch to 
keep her company. One was to sit up the first hour ; 
the other ,> the next ; and so on. 

Those who knew General Hancock as a boy speak 
always of his generosity as a leading trait in his char- 
acter. There was nothing mean about him. He was 
thoughtful for others before himself. He always wanted 
his friends to share what good fortune he had, — to have 
as good as he had himself. This trait remained with 
him throughout his career, and won for him stanch 
friends in whatever station he found himself placed. 

There is a story told which in a measure illustrates 
this quality, although its most curious interest is found 
in its sequel. A poor little orphan boy came to Nor- 
ristown when Winfield was about eleven years old, sent 
there at the death of his parents to be cared for by dis- 
tant relatives. Winfield, in a manner, took the little 
fellow under his protection. He was the youngest and 
the smallest boy in the school which they both attended, 
and was consequently on occasion the butt of those who 
were inclined to bully or tease. Young Hancock was 



32 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

already developing into a manly boy, and he stood be- 
tween his little protege and his persecutors, fought his 
battles for him, made a place for him among the others, 
and divided with him his not very lavish supply of 
pocket-money in those treats which school-boys delight 
in. This little fellow left Norristown as poor as he had 
come into it, going to Philadelphia to work for his own 
living as soon as he had passed the dependent age, and 
reaching that city with only one cent in his pocket. 
But he was fortunate in finding work, and be worked 
so well at his trade, carpentering, that before long he 
was at the head of a gang of men ; and, to make a long 
story short, in the course of years he accumulated 
wealth, and, going into politics, was elected a member 
of the city council. During the same years, Winfield 
had also grown to man's estate, and made his own 
career in another field ; and it was the little forsaken 
fellow whom he had befriended in his school-days, who, 
in the city government of Philadelphia, introduced the 
resolutions of thanks and welcome to Major-Gen. 
Winfield Scott Hancock, in the name of the city, and 
offering him the use of the historic Independence Hall 
for a reception on his visit to Philadelphia. The 
chances of life had brous^ht as-ain into immediate asso- 
elation John W. Everman and Winfield S. Hancock, 
through paths so widely separated since the Norristown 
school-days. It was Everman, too, who, as chaiiTnan 
of the committee of the city government, presented 
the engrossed resolutions to his former school-mate and 
champion. 

These recollections of the early boyhood of Winfield 




Hancock's ea-rlt home, norristown, pa. 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 33 

Scott Hancock are cherished as precious memories at 
his old home in the Schuylkill Valley; having little 
value, indeed, in themselves, but serving to bring into 
closer sympathy the hero whom a united country 
uonors, with the people from whom he came and one 
of whom he is. 



34 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER in. 

One of Winfield Hancock's Chums. — His Home Life. — A Student 
in Norristowu Academy. — Tlie Baptist Sunday-School. — A Cadet 
at West Point. — How he was Appointed. — His Class-mates. — 
Courtship and Marriage. — Birth of Children. — Honors received. 

Among the intimate friends of General Hancock's 
school-boy days was Hon. B. E. Chain, now one of the 
leading lawyers of the IMoutgomery County bar. The 
friendship, which began in boyhood, has continued even 
to the present day ; Mr. Chain having had the settle- 
ment of the elder Hancock's estate, and in other ways 
giving the General and his family the benefit of his 
legal knowledge and business ability. A more vivid 
picture of General Hancock as a youth cannot be found 
in brief space than that which Mr. Chain gives in his 
own words, as follows : — 

" I have known hini for over forty j'ears, and, boy and 
man, am glad to claim him as a friend. In 1828 he came 
from Montgomery township, near Montgomerj^ville, about 
ten miles from here, to this town, with his father and mother 
and twin brother, Hilar}'. He was then about four 3'ears 
old. The family went to reside in a two-stor}^ stone house, 
stiU standing, but very dilapidated. This house at that time 
was one mile west of the town, on the old Ridge pike. It is 
now in the city limits, near the cemetery. He first went to 
school to Eliphalet Roberts, in the academy, which then 
stood where the present market-house stands. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 35 

• ' From my earliest acquaintance with him, we boys ac- 
knowledged him as a kind of a leader. He was quiet, but 
firm, in all he undertook. I remember that his tastes earlier 
ran in a soldierly direction. He used to get us boys back of 
the academ}", and, improvising cocked hats Of paper and guns 
and swords of sticks, put us through all manner of manoeu- 
vres, that to our boyish ideas were the acme of military 
perfection. 

" At that time his father was in poor circumstances, and it 
was a struggle for him to gain sustenance for his family. As 
business improved in his profession as a lawyer, he moved 
into town, and occupied a three-story brick house on Swede 
Street, close to Lafayette Street, having his office in a small 
brick building adjoining. Winfield and his brother, Hilary, 
at that time looked so much alike that it was hard to dis- 
tinguish one from the other across the street. 

' ' His father and mother were Baptists of the strictest 
school, and kept their children in their earUer years under 
the most rigid moral training. The consequence was, that 
up to the time Winfield went to West Point he had no vices. 
He was then in his seventeenth year, was tall for his age, but 
very slender. 

' ' He never forgot his old friends ; and after he graduated 
he would visit them at times, never assuming anj' superiority, 
but on the footing established in the boyhood days. His life 
after leaving West Point has become historical, and needs no 
repetition from me. With regard to his religious predilec- 
tions, he is not connected with any denomination. While 
the General was quite young, his father and mother connected 
themselves with the Baptists in this town ; and the General, 
then a small boy, attended the Sunday-school of that church, 
his father being the superintendent." 

The attachment of General Hancock for his boy- 



36 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

hood's home was equally sincere. Soon after he 
assumed command of the Military Division of the 
Atlantic, he remarked to a friend, "Now, if the gov- 
ernment will only remove my headquarters to Phil- 
adelphia, I shall be able to realize the desire of my 
heart by making my residence in Norristown, the home 
of my childhood." This was not to be ; but if Gen- 
eral Hancock could have witnessed the universal joy 
that jDcrvaded Norristown, without regard to party, 
when the news was received there of his nomination 
to the presidency by the Democratic convention at 
Cincinnati, he would have realized how fully his feel- 
ings were reciprocated, and how proudly his native 
town watched the brilliant career of the stripling youth 
whom it had sent forth. 

Along the streets, in all public places, in private 
offices, everywhere in and about the town, party feel- 
ing was laid aside, and general rejoicing prevailed. 
Five hundred guns were fired, the town was illuminated 
in the evening, and the whole population turned out at 
an impromptu ratification meeting. Old men, who 
had almost reached the allotted " threescore years and 
ten," forgot political strife as they shook hands, and 
discussed their boyish recollections of " Winfield Han- 
cock." It was no longer General Hancock to them, 
but old Ben Hancock's boy, "Winfield." The old two- 
story stone house near the Montgomery cemetery, that 
has been in so dilapidated a condition for years that it 
has not been habitable, where General Hancock's child- 
hood days were spent, became at once a place of im- 
portance ; and duiing the day not a few who had passed 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANHOCK. 37 

it for years without giving a thought to the old struct- 
ure stopped to gaze upon it. 

Young Hancock received the best education that his 
parents could provide for him; and he improved his 
opportunities. He was placed at school in the Norris- 
town Academy, where Eliphalet Eoberts was his first 
teacher. When the public school system was adopted, 
his father being one of the promoters of the system, 
and also actively engaged in carrying out its opera- 
tions as one of the school board of Norristown, he 
was sent to a free school. 

He was a studious boy, and a bright one ; and, as 
early as his fifteenth year, he was selected to read the 
Declaration of Independence on the occasion of the 
public celebration of the anniversary. 

In the year 1840, when he was sixteen, Winfield 
Scott Hancock received the appointment to the Mili- 
tary Academy at West Point. It was the natural 
course for the career of a boy who, by descent, by 
family tradition, and by native preference, had a 
military bent. The profession of arms was one to 
which he inevitably tended. The appointment was 
made by Hon. Joseph Fornance, at that time repre- 
senting the district in Congress. Mr. Fornance was a 
friend of young Hancock's father, respected him as a 
citi2;en and as a man, knew his struggle to educate his 
boys properly, and saw also in Winfield the evidence 
of a spirit and ability that would do credit to the coun- 
try under the training of the Military School. 

But there is a curious story of the way in which the 
appointment was brought about, which, whether it is 



68 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Vrue or a fable, at least illustrates how comparatively 
»mall incidents may turn the course of events unex- 
pectedly to great results. 

This story goes that at that time there lived in Mont- 
gomery County an ex-member of Congress, whose 
laste for political management, as well as his large 
experience in public aflfairs, gave him great influence. 
He was a lawyer and a bachelor ; and, in place of a 
family on which to lavish his affection, he gave it all to 
his profession, to politics, and to a remarkably fine 
horse, which he rode on all his errands of business or 
pleasure over the country. In course of time, the 
horse grew old and stiff, and, to provide his favorite 
with a comfortable maintenance in his age, the lawyer 
presented him to a professional friend in Philadelphia, 
with the understanding that he was to be used only for 
light family work, and to be well cared for. Going to 
Philadelphia some time after, the lawyer recognized in 
an overloaded dray horse, beaten by a cruel driver, 
the pet animal that he had consigned to the care of his 
friend. He at once bought his old horse, and took him 
back to Montgomery County. 

Now, it so happened that the Philadelphia friend, who 
had so violated friendship and decency by selling the 
gift of the Montgomery County lawyer, to be abused, 
contrary to their understanding, had a son for whom 
he wished an appointment * as cadet at West Point. 
Knowing that there was a vacancy in Congressman 
Fornance's district, he removed part of his family into 
Montgomery County, for the purpose of securing the 
appointment as a resident of the district; and such 



"WrNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 39 

were the influences he brought to bear that he would 
probably have succeeded, but for the indignation of the 
owner of the horse, whose confidence he had betrayed. 
The latter, as a manner of getting even with him, 
threw all his influence in favor of the appointment of 
young Hancock, and was successful. 

This is one of the stories of the region, in relating 
which, as it may have little foundation in fact, we have 
omitted all mention of names. It is on the whole more 
probable that Hon. Joseph Fornance, who knew and 
respected Benjamin F. Hancock, both as a lawyer and 
a citizen, needed no extraordinary inducement or influ- 
ence to appoint his son, so promising a youth, to the 
vacancy at West Point. 

The period at which Hancock was at West Point was 
prolific of distinguished graduates. Among his fellow- 
cadets whose names have become familiar to every 
A^merican citizen, and are known, indeed, through the 
whole world, were George B. McClellan, U. S. Grant, 
John F. Reynolds (who fell on the first day at Gettys- 
burg), J. L, Reno (who fell at South Mountain), Wil- 
liam B. Franklin, Burnside, "Baldy" Smith, Pleasanton, 
Ord, " Stonewall " Jackson, Longstreet, the two Hills, 
and others. Hancock was esteemed at West Point, 
as he had been at home, and developed military talent 
of the first order. Here it was that he first saw and 
conversed with Gen. Winfield Scott, for whom he was 
named ; and it is said that the veteran soldier found 
much to commend in the stripling cadet. It cannot 
be doubted that his bearing such a name had much 
to do with inspiring Hancock in his career, as it had 
with his choice of a profession. 



40 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The character of the boy strengthened and devel- 
oped under the discipline of West Point and amid the 
competitors that he there had, and he took high rank 
as a scholar, graduating eighteenth in a large class on 
the 30th of June, 1844, when he received his commis- 
sion as Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Sixth In- 
fantry. 

Of his military career and services, so brilliant and 
so great, we shall next speak. It was while he was 
sei'ving as adjutant of his regiment, then stationed at 
St. Louis, before he had attained full rank as First 
Lieutenant, although he had been bre vetted for gallantry 
in the Mexican war, that he married Miss Russell, the 
daughter of a prominent merchant of St. Louis, in 
1850. The fruit of this union was two children, — a 
son, Kussell, named after Mrs. Hancock's father ; and a 
daughter, who died at the age of eighteen, several j^ears 
ago, and was buried in the family lot in the Norristown 
cemetery. Russell Hancock is married, and lives on 
his plantation, about one hundred miles below Mem- 
phis. 

Since his commission in the United States army, 
General Hancock has had no home except where duty 
called him. Once or twice he has hired a house and 
fitted it up for occupancy, expecting a residence of 
considerable length. But the inexorable orders of the 
War Department have compelled him to break up 
housekeeping, and remove perhaps a thousand miles 
to take charge of a different command. There is no 
home-life for one in the service, except what a conge- 
nial family can give ; and this, it may be said, has been 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 41 

General Hancock's good fortune since the day when he, 
as a young lieutenant, plighted vows with Miss Russell 
at St. Louis. He has ever been a servant of his coun- 
try ; doing his duty faithfully and with honor in every 
station, whether of danger or of wearisome labor, to 
which he was called. He early learned to obey ; he 
quickly showed his power to command. As a man, he 
proved himself upright and honorable ; as a citizen, 
he showed himself stanchly patriotic under all circum- 
stances. As a soldier, his name is one of the brightest 
on our roll of heroes. In the course of his career, he 
became the recipient of a service of plate from the 
citizens of Pennsylvania, of a sword from the United 
States Sanitary Commission of St. Louis, and of the 
official thanks, not only of the city of Philadelphia, 
but — the most distinguished honor that could be con- 
ferred — of the Congress of the United States. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 



DP.A.ia a? II, 



THE SOLDIER 



CHAPTER I. 

Licntenant Hancock enters the Sixth Infantry. — Hie Service on the 
Plains. — Protecting the Advance Guard of White Settlers. — The 
Outbreak of the Mexican War. — Hancock's Request to be ordered 
TO the Front. — He is sent to Mexico. — His first Experience under 
Fire at Contreras and San Antonio. — He begins to make a Record. 

Lieutenant Hancock entered the army from West 
Point, well qualified to develop, under favorable cir- 
cumstances, the great talents which he then possessed 
in embryo, and also having within his breast a noble 
ambition to make his name worthy of the parents who 
had reared and taught him. The characteristics which 
have since made him one of the foremost men in the land 
were even at that time apparent. He was earnest, in- 
dustrious, conscientious, and strongly patriotic. He 
sought duty for the sake of doing it well, and he 
shirked nothing which came Co him in the path of his 
profession. The efiects of his early training in the 
Norristown home remained with him, keeping him 
honest, sincere, and true to himself. Cadet-life at West 
Point had not obliterated the home influence, and he 
went into the army with a fresh heart and an earnest 
purpose. 

On the 1st of July, 1844, he received his brevet 
Second Lieutenancy, in the Sixth Infantry, and was 
ordered to report to his command in the Indian Terri- 
tory. The Sixth Regiment was then stationed in the 



46 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Far West, in the region of the Washita or Red River. 
It was here that he served his novitiate. Settlers neai 
the Indian Territory were then, as now, subject to fre- 
quent alarms ; but at that time, the Indians being 
vastly more numerous, the country comparatively 
vacant of white residents and means of communication 
almost nothing, they were much more at the mercy of 
the savage raiders. The army of the United States 
was almost entirely occupied with the protection of the 
advance-line of settlers as it slowly pushed its way 
across the continent, each year hearing the axe's ring 
further in the western forest, and seeing the rich prairie 
soil turned in furrows nearer to the setting sun. 

Hostile tribes were numerous and active ; and in 
place of the occasional outbreaks at the more distant 
points of our unsettled territory, which now occur, the 
whole line of the pioneers' advance was constantly 
threatened. 

There was no glory to be gained by service in this 
section. It was the drudgery of army life, one day 
differing from another by little which can be called in- 
cident. But it is now, as it Avas in 1844, the school of 
practice to which West Point graduates are sent to 
familiarize themselves with the practical workings of 
the theories learned at the Academy. 

Lieutenant Hancock was for a time stationed at Fort 
Towson, on the Red River of the South, and was then 
transferred to Fort Washita, at that time our most 
western military station. It was here that, on the 
18th of June, 1846, he received his commission as 
full Second Lieutenant. 



WmiTELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 47 

In the mean time, the diplomatic difficulties between 
the United States and Mexico had developed into open 
war. Taylor had made an entrance into the territory 
of the Montezumas, and his brilliant victories had 
aroused the war-spirit throughout the land. Lieutenant 
Hancock had been sent eastward from the Red River 
temtory — although the point to which he was ordered 
was then considered far west — and was eng-affed in 
the recruiting service at Newport Barracks, Ky. 
He chafed under this restraint while the bugles were 
calling across the border ; for he had the spirit of the 
true soldier, which permits no contentment in inactivity 
when his country calls for aid. And when President 
Polk's administration determined to push the war to a 
conclusion, and in November, 1846, ordered General 
Scott to take command and finish the conflict, Hancock 
could wait no longer, but made formal application to 
the War Department to be sent to the front. A letter 
to his twin brother, written about this time, gives a 
brief expression of his feelings. 

Newport Barracks, Ky., May 5, 1847. 
My Dear Hilary : — I was exceedingly glad to find, on my 
arrival here from Fort Scott, two long and interesting letters 
from you. The only thing that grieves me is, that I cannot 
get to Mexico. I made an application to-day to join the 
army going to the front. Whether the Adjutant-General 
will favor it or not, I do not know, but think it doubtful. I 
am actively engaged as Superintendent of the recruiting ser- 
vice for the Western Division, and acting as Assistant 
Inspector-General ; but though my services are said to be 
useful, I still want to go to Mexico. 

Your affectionate brother, Winfield. 



48 IJFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Had Lieutenant Hancock's request been refused, or 
had his regiment been continued on service along the 
western frontier instead of going to Mexico with Scott, 
the career of the young soldier would have been delayed 
in its opening. And, while we cannot doubt that his 
genius and his strong qualities of mind would have 
brought him to a commanding position in time, his 
course would probably have been different, and possibly 
with widely different results. 

But he was to have his desire. In June, only a few 
weeks after his desponding letter to his brother, his 
regiment was ordered to join Scott's army in Mexico. 
Taylor had been fighting in a desultory way along the 
border. Scott was to penetrate the interior and " con- 
quer a peace," all in a short campaign of six months 
and five days. Already, on the 9th of March, 1847, 
Scott had landed at Vera Cruz with twelve thousand 
men, under fire and through the surf, without losing a 
boat or a man, and had taken the city and the castle of 
San Juan de Ulloa, with five thousand prisoners. Al- 
ready the army had begun to push toward the interior, 
and the heights of Cerro Gordo had been stormed and 
taken. The gallant Shields, then a general, and Phil. 
Kearney, then a captain of cavalry, had been honora- 
bly mentioned ; Robert E. Lee, then a captain of 
engineers, was in what Scott called his "little cabi- 
net ; " and Colonel Harney was leading his artillery. 
It was a time when reputations were making rapidly, and 
every young officer's ambition burned to take part in 
the conflict. Then Scott pushed his arms on to Jalapa, 
and thence to Puebla, always straight toward the capital. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 49 

Here it was that Winfield Scott Hancock first found 
himself in service under the veteran soldier for whom 
he was named. Reinforcements, after long delay, 
reached the army of invasion at Puebla. Among them 
was Gen. Franklin Pierce, in command of a brigade; 
Beauregard and McClellan, both then lieutenants, were 
on the Engineer Corps ; Hammond was an assistant- 
surgeon. In fact, the roster of the little army under 
Scott that met at Puebla contained names that the his- 
tory of the past thirty years has made famous through- 
out the world. Lieut. Winfield Scott Hancock was in 
Colonel Clarke's brigade, the second in General Worth's 
division. 

The advance began on the 7th of August, 1847, only 
three months after Lieutenant Hancock had written his 
doubts of ever being permitted to share in the dangers 
and the glories of this war. Santa Anna had then had 
nearly four months since the battle of Cerro Gordo to 
collect and reorganize the entire means of the Mexi- 
can Repul)lic for a last vigorous attempt to crush the 
invasion. The Mexican general possessed wonderful 
energy, ability, and courage ; and it was no easy task 
that Scott had undertaken, to march his little army 
through a hostile country to the capture of the capital 
city. It is reported of the Duke of Wellington, that, 
having followed carefully on the map the victorious 
course of the United States army up to the basin of 
Mexico, at that point he said : " Scott is lost. He has 
been carried away by successes. He can't take the city, 
and he can't fall back upon his base." 

On the 10th of August the regiment in which 



50 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Hancock served crossed the Rio Frio range of moun- 
tains, the highest point in the bed of the road between 
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In his account, General 
Scott says : " Descending the long western slope, a 
magnificent basin, with, near its centre, the object of 
all our dreams and hopes, toils and dangers — once the 
gorgeous seat of the Montezumas, now the capital of a 
great republic — first broke upon our enchanted view. 
The close-surrounding lakes, sparkling under a bright 
sun, seemed, in the distance, pendant diamonds. Tho 
numerous steeples, of great beauty and elevation, with 
Popocatepetl, ten thousand feet higher, apparently near 
enough to touch with the hand, filled the mind with re- 
ligious awe. Recovering from the sublime trance, 
probably not a man in the column failed to say to his 
neighbor or himself. That splendid city soon shall be 
ours ! All were ready to suit the action to the word." 
Here, in descending the Rio Frio range into the valley 
of Mexico, Worth's brigade, in which was Lieutenant 
Hancock, was sent forward to lead the way. Fortj'- 
seven miles in eight days brought the army over a route 
deemed impracticable by the enemy, to San Augustin ; 
and thence the fighting began. A series of brilliant 
events was contested, all in the sight of the city of 
Mexico. Contreras was taken in two days of sharp 
fighting against greatly superior numbers, and then 
came San Antonio, through which was opened the road 
to Mexico. Worth's division had shared the honors of 
Contreras, and to it was also given the work of attack- 
ing San Antonio in front. These were the first 
considerable engagements in which Lieutenant Hancock 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 51 

ever took part. It was his brigade which, at San 
Antonio, in the words of General Scott in his official 
report, " turned to the left, and by a wide sweep, came 
out upon the high-road to the capital, cut in the centre 
the heavy garrison of three thousand men which was in 
retreat, drove one portion off upon Dolores and the 
other upon Churubusco, and, following in jDursuit 
through the town, took one general prisoner, five 
abandoned guns, much ammunition, and other prop- 
erty." 

It was a gallant dash, and the young officers of the 
Sixth Regiment proved theit mettle. An eye-witness 
describes the scene of confusion as unparalleled. The 
magnificent causeway, lined on both sides with rows of 
stately shade-trees, was filled, as- far as the eye could 
reach, with masses of the flying enemy. Cavalry, 
artillery, and infantry were all rushing forward pell- 
mell, amid the shouts of the officers as they gave their 
confused and hurried orders, the rumbling of artillery 
and baggage-wagons as the horses were whipped uj 
to their full speed, the yells of teamsters and the 
shrieks of the wounded and dying as they were tumbled 
from their saddles by the unerring aim of our soldiers. 

Raphael Semmes, since the notorious Confederate 
privateer admiral, was at that time on the staff of Gen- 
eral AVorth, and in describing this affiiir, he relates the 
following anecdote : " We made a great many pris- 
oners, many of whom threw themselves at our feet in 
the greatest alarm and consternation. I happened to 
witness an amusing scene just as I came out upon the 
road. I saw, lying prostrate under one of the shade- 



52 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

trees, a remarkably bulky-looking figure in the uniform 
of a Mexican general, and a soldier of one of our com- 
panies standing by him. Supposing the officer to have 
been killed, I inquired of the soldier if this were the 
fact. 'Oh, no, sir,' said he, ' he is only a Kttle out of 
wind, being, a fat man; I have just run him down.' 
The general afterwards informed me that, in the hurry 
of the retreat, his aid-de-camp had run ofi" with his horse, 
and that this was the cause of his being captured! — a 
thing which, I suppose, could only occur in Mexico." 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 53 



CHAPTER n. 

Battle of Cliurubusco. — The Advance upon the City of Mexico. — The 
Bridge at Chnrubusco the Key to the Situation. — General Worth's 
Brigade ordered to carry the Fortification. — Lieutenant Hancock's 
Company Leads the Charge. — The Eepulse. — The Tete du Pont 
taken by Storm. — Lieutenant Hancock -wins his first Brevet for 
Gallantry in Action. 

It was now the 20th of August, and Lieutenant 
Hancock was one of a victorious army — victorious, 
too, over many times its own numbers — -on the great 
causeway leading straight to the city of Mexico. He 
had won his spurs at Contreras and at San Antonio, 
and Churubusco lay right before him, where the great 
battle was to be fought. 

The city of Mexico lies in the centre of a basin or 
amphitheatre, whose mountain-rim is about one hundred 
and eighty miles in circumference. It formerly occupied 
islands in the lake of Tezcuco ; but with its spread and 
growth the lake was largely filled up. The legend is, that 
the emigration under Montezuma was guided by the pre- 
diction that the great capital city of their people would 
be founded on the spot where an eagle was found seated 
upon a thorny cactus, grasping a serpent in his talons. 
The wanderers found the eagle thus seated, on an island 
in Lake Tezcuco, and there they proceeded to realize 
the prediction by founding the city of Mexico. Cortes 



54 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

found it a great city, the centre of a wonderful pagan 
civilization. He had the ambition to make it a yet 
greater Christian city, in his rough way, tearing down 
temples only to build more magnificent cathedrals. 
But its general topographical features remained un- 
chansred. Its streets were not more than four feet above 
the level of the water in the surrounding lakes. Moats 
and marshy lands, capable of being overflowed at will, 
constituted its best means of defence. Its only ap- 
proaches were over causeways built ages before, and 
perfected as government works in later days. 

It was into this basin that Scott's army had de- 
scended, with the city of Mexico in full view only a 
few miles distant. He had taken Contreras on the 
west, and San Antonio on the east, and Churubusco 
lay at the junction of the two highways, strongly forti- 
fied, from which the great causeway led straight on to 
the city of Mexico. The Rio de Churubusco runs due 
east, crossing this causeway about two miles north of 
San Antonio. The banks of the river had been artifi- 
cially elevated to prevent inundation, and, like those of 
all Mexican water-courses, its sides were planted with 
rows of maguey, afibrding a screen to large, numbers 
of troops, to which the elevated banks ofiered partial 
protection. South of the stream lay the scattered 
houses of the village of Churubusco, one of which was 
a massive stone convent that had been prepared for 
defence. It was surrounded by a field-work having 
embrasures and platforms for many cannon, its walls 
were pierced for musketry, its parapets and windows 
all afibrded good positions for troops, and ammunition 



WLNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 55 

to any amount was inside the buildings. Three thou- 
sand Mexican troops occupied this point. 

Another, and more formidable work, was the tele du 
pont of Churubusco, covering the bridge by which the 
causeway of San Antonio "led to the city of Mexico. 
The river was bridged where the causeway crossed, 
and at the approach from the south, this fortiiication, 
the "head of the bridge," was constructed. It was 
a beautiful field-work, scientifically constructed, with 
wet ditches, embrasures and platforms for a large arma- 
ment. On each side of this formidable fortification 
stretched the dikes, or elevated banks of the river, 
occupied by dense masses of military which had been 
hurried forward by Santa Anna from the city. In 
front, the ground was occupied by corn-fields, with 
straggling fruit and other trees, the corn at that time 
being six feet high, and waving its green tassels most 
invitingly, but treacherously. The ploughed ground, 
though not miry, was heavy, and a network of cross- 
ditches and dikes for irrigating purposes obstructed 
the advance of the attacking force. 

It was against such obstacles, with an army of twenty- 
five thousand men behind them, that the little brigade 
in which young Lieutenant Hancock fought was led. 
But it was the key to the whole position ; it lay 
directly on the road to the capital ; it must be carried. 

The fugitives from San Antonio fell back in a dis- 
orderly retreat upon this position. General Worth, 
knowing that another battle lay in front of him, checked 
the heat of the pursuit, and moved forward coolly. 
As they approached the bridge, the Mexican artillery, 



56 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

which enfiladed the road, and then the musketry, 
opened upon them. The action had ah-eady begun on 
the right of the Mexican line, where our troops had 
come up from the west, and a tremendous roar of 
artillery and small-arms was heard from one end to 
the other of the line of battle, extending more than a 
mile. 

The day ^vas perfectly clear ; but the smoke, as it 
arose over the heads of the combatants, formed a deep 
.canopy that partially obscured the sun, and reflected 
back the vivid flashes of the guns, as they belched fire 
and iron from the frowning fortification upon the 
advancing ranks. 

Then it was that it became the duty of the Sixth In- 
fantry to charge straight through this hell of fire upon 
the works in front of them. The rest of the brigade 
was ordered to move by the flank, parallel to the road 
through the fields ; the Sixth was ordered directly up 
the road to storm the iete dii pont. 

Lieutenant Hancock's company. Captain Hofiiiian in 
command, led this terrible charge. The Mexicans in 
the work, whose attention had up to this time liecn 
directed to the troops advancing through the corn on 
either flank, seeing the gallant Sixth making this direct 
assault, turned all their guns upon it. Some of the 
men recoiled under the sweeping stroke of the artil- 
lery ; but the officers rallied them, and with a shout 
they again rushed forward. But it was not to be done. 
The awful storm of lead and iron that poured down and 
across that causeway permitted no living thing to stand 
against it. In the words of a stafi" ofiicer's report, 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 57 

"the Sixth Infantry was met by so destructive a fire, 
ripping and cutting its ranks in pieces, that it was 
forced to recoil and fall back ; which, however, was 
done with the coolness of a parade." 

General Worth, who was with the advance on the 
flank, shouted to Lieutenant Hancock's company to 
leave the deadly causeway and incline to the right into 
the corn. Then, while still under a galling fire, they 
dashed past, at double-quick, the deep, wet ditch that 
surrounded the work, and carried it with the bayonet, 
Lieutenant Hancock, by the side of his captain, lead- 
ing his men into the embrasures and over the walls 
without the help of ladders. The enemy could not 
withstand the shock, but gave way ; and in a moment 
more the cheers that rang out gave notice to the brave 
fellows fighting along down the line that the key to the 
battle-field had been taken. A few shots were ex- 
changed, a few bayonets crossed, and the greater num- 
ber fled over the bridge toward the city, leaving guns, 
standards, and prisoners in the hands of our men. 

But the battle was not yet over. It had lasted two 
hours from the time it was first opened by the Sixth 
Infantry to the time when the same regiment, with 
Hancock's company at its head, clambered into the tele 
du pont. It was another hour before the last of Santa 
Anna's twenty-five thousand men were in flight toward 
the city of Mexico. The capture of the bridge deter- 
mined the fate of the battle. When the guns of the 
devoted fortress, which up to this time had not slack- 
ened their fire, were turned upon the Mexicans, a 
white flag was hung out from the convent balcony. 



58 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The pursuit was continued for more than half the 
distance from Churubusco to the gates of the city of 
Mexico, when it was stopped, by order of General 
Scott. 

It was a costly victory. The loss on our side, in 
killed and wounded, was eleven hundred, of whom 
eighty-four were officers. This great disproportion of 
officers was due to the fact that they led, and the men 
followed them. In General Worth's report of this 
battle, he says : " When I recur to the nature of the 
ground, and the fact that the division (twenty-six 
hundred strong of all arms) was engaged from two to 
two and a half hours in a hand-to-hand conflict with 
from seven thovisand to nine thousand of the enemy, 
having the advantage of position and occupying regu- 
lar works, the mind is filled with wonder, and the heart 
with latitude to the brave officers and soldiers whose 
steady and indomitable valor has aided in achieving 
results so honorable to our country." 

It was at Churubusco that Phil. Kearney lost his 
arm ; and it was at Churubusco that Winfield Scott 
Hancock, whose company led that terrible charge down 
the causeway to the bridge, won his first brevet. The 
order from the War Department commissioning him 
brevet First Lieutenant is dated Aug. 20, 1847, the 
day of the battle of Churubusco, and states that the 
honor is conferred " for gallant and meritorious conduct 
at Contreras and Churubusco," — a formula which sig- 
nifies the highest cause for which advancement in rank 
can be conferred. 



"WINFIELD S(X>TT HANCOCK. 59 



CHAPTEE ni. 

Molino del Key. — Situation of Scott's Army before the City of 
Mexico. — The Gates of the City and their Fortifications. — Lieu- 
tenant Hancock again foremost in the Post of Danger. — He leads 
his Company against the Battery at Molino del Key. — Eleven out 
of fourteen Officers killed. — Hancock saved amid the Carnage. 

The battle of Churubusco was one in which the 
determined bravery of the American troops and the 
skill of their officers in any emergency were conspicu- 
ously displayed ; for the Mexicans fought bravely 
and like true men, although not even their overwhelm- 
ingly large numbers availed them for success. And, 
moreover, the battle was fought without reconnoissance 
or knowledge of the ground and the obstacles to be 
encountered. Even the subordinate officers showed 
their ability to comprehend the situation and take 
quick and decisive action on the spur of the moment, 
demonstrating not only their impetuous bravery, but 
their coolness and skill in the turmoil of battle. 

And yet another test of the young lieutenant's 
quality was close at hand ; for only four miles distant 
was the city of Mexico, with its outlying fortifications, 
which must be passed, and the citadel taken, before a 
peace should be conquered. 

The armistice to which the combatants asrreed after 
the battle of Churubusco, came to an end without any 
definite result from the negotiations for peace. These 



60 LITE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OP 

negotiations came to an end Sept. 6. The United 
States army was then at Tacubaya. It was here that 
Lieutenant Hancock wrote home to his father : — 

Tacubata, Mexico, Aug. 26, 1847. 
My Dear Father : — I feel thankful that I am able to 
wi'ite you from this place. We had to fight desperately' to 
get here. It has been the theatre of a sauguinar}^ battle. I 
left off my last letter to engage in preparations for it. 

Your affectionate son, 

"WiNFIELD. 

The city of Mexico, with its two hundred thousand 
inhabitants, lay close at hand. They could almost 
reconnoitre it with their field-glasses. On the side 
where the United States army was operating there 
were four principal gates, each gate a fortress, and 
each approached by a grand causeway. The ground 
between these causeways was low and marshy, and in 
the rainy season, as then, partly inundated by detached 
pools of water, and impracticable for troops. Several 
cross-roads passed from one causeway to another, 
sometimes two or more of these entering the city at or 
near the same gate. These various approaches were 
cut from point to point, and were defended by breast- 
works and artillery. In addition to the batteries 
which commanded the direct approaches, other batter- 
ies were placed on the tlanks of these so as to fire 
across the road, and at the same time upon the flanks 
and rear of the first batteries, in case these should be 
carried. The walls of the city were surrounded by 
wet ditches, of great width and depth, intended for 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 61 

the purpose of drainage, and others crossed and re- 
crossed these. Every foot of the ground at all ap- 
proachable had been taken possession of by the Mexicans 
and fortified with breastworks and artillery. 

Much of this fortification had doubtless been done 
by Santa Anna during the armistice ; and there have 
always been grave doubts as to the wisdom of the 
policy pursued by General Scott in this campaign. 
During his life, party denunciation was bitter indeed ; 
but at this time it is not purposed to discuss the ques- 
tion whether the battle of Churubusco was necessary ; 
whether Scott would not have done better to follow 
Kearney when he led his troopers to the San Antonio 
gate of the city of Mexico ; whether the taking of the 
Molino del Rey was a mistake ; or any other of the 
vexed questions of the Mexican war. The purpose here 
is to sketch those events which marked the career of 
young Hancock in his first campaign ; and glorious 
events they were, considered simply as exhibitions ol 
bravery, skill, and force employed in the service of his 
country. 

It was while encamped at Tacubaya, opposite these 
complicated and formidable fortifications, that the 
armistice was ended ; and at the same time word was 
brought to General Scott that the Mexicans were mass- 
ing troops near one of the four gates, that commanding 
the causeway from Chapultepec, for the purpose of pro- 
tecting what was supposed to be a gun foundry. This 
supposed foundry was a range of strong stone build- 
ings, known as the Molino del Rey, or King's Mill, 
about one mile north of Tacubaya. It formed the 



62 LIFE AM) PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

western side of an enclosure surrounding the rock, 
castle, groves, and Holds of Chapultepec. The guns of 
the castle commanded the Molino. It was reported 
that the Mexicans had found themselves short of artil- 
lery, owing to the large captures of our troops, and 
that the church-bells of the city had been sent to this 
foundry for conversion into ordnance. General Scott 
decided that it was necessary to destroy this factory of 
arms, and at the same time prepare the way for the 
taking of the castle of Chapultepec. 

As happened so frequently in this campaign, General 
Worth's division was chosen to carry out this dangerous 
and difficult operation. Indeed, the command in which 
Lieutenant Hancock held a commission was especially 
favored with opportunities for distinction in this war ; 
and the youth who, such a short time before, had 
mourned the fate which seemed to forbid his taking an 
active part in the contest, found himself foremost in 
the places of danger and of honor. 

General Worth received his orders on the 7th of 
September. It was to be a night attack, or, rather, 
the position was to be taken under cover of the dark- 
ness and the assault was to be made at daybreak. At 
three o'clock on the morning of the 8th of September, 
General Worth's command was in position and the ball 
was opened by the artillery. For some time there was 
no response from the castle of Chapultepec, and the 
crashing of the shot through the masonrj^ of the Molino 
del Rey was the only answer. But as the line was ad- 
vanced all doubts were dispelled. The location of the 
Mexican battery had been changed during the night, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 63 

and it now opened heavily upon the flank of the attack- 
ing party with round shot and grape, cutting down 
officers and men with fearful carnage. The charge 
was ordered, and the men, bringing down their bayo- 
nets, rushed straight at the battery, through the storm 
of grape and musketry, driving the enemy from their 
guns and for the moment capturing the position and 
turning the guns upon their late owners. But before 
the guns could be discharged the Mexicans perceived 
that they had been dislodged by a mere handful of 
men, and they returned to the charge, aided by a 
tremendous fire of musketry from the troops in and on 
top of the Molino, drove out our soldiers and bayo- 
neted the wounded. It was a frightful ordeal, more 
sanguinary than even that charge along the cause- 
way at Churubusco. Out of the fourteen officers com- 
posing the command of the assaulting force, eleven 
were shot down by the murderous fire. 

It so happened that Lieutenant Hancock was in this 
engagement in command of his company, although only 
a second lieutenant. Captain Hofiman having been as- 
signed to the command of the Sixth Infantry battalion ; 
and with him, also lieutenants, were Sedgwick and 
Buckner and Rosecrans. 

Decimated but not daunted, this gallant command 
returned to the charo^e as^ain and af^ain. It was a 
rough and fearful scramble. One party commenced 
tearing down the hacienda with no other implements 
than their muskets ; others thrust their bayonets into 
the crevices of the stone walls and climbed up by them ; 
others fired into apertures or climbed broken sheds 



64 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

that oflfered a means of access. Finally the southern 
gate was dashed in, others followed it, and our troops 
had possession of the Molino del Rey. 

The battle, in which the young Lieutenant Hancock 
led the van of the assaulting party, had been won by 
three thousand against fourteen thousand : but at a 
terrible loss. Of this three thousand, nearly one- 
third were lost under the devastating lire of the Mexi- 
cans. Hancock, while foremost in the fight, bore a 
charmed life. The providence that watches over the 
fate of nations had greater deeds for him to do, and 
the scorching tests to which he was put in the bloody 
conflicts around the Mexican basin were toughening his 
nerves and strengthening his soul for the nobler work 
of battling for the Union. 



WTNTTELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 65 



CHAPTEE IV. 

Chapultepec. — Hancock describes his Feelings wliile confined to the 
House by Fever. — He creeps to the Eoof and cheers as his Company 
take the Castle. — The Entry into the City of Mexico. — Lieutenant 
Hancock's Letters Home. — End of the War. 

There now remained the fortress of Chapultepec to 
be reduced before the army marched upon the city in 
the path chosen by General Scott. This fortress stood 
on a rocky and picturesque mound at the head of one 
of the great causeways leading into the city, and com- 
manding the road. The waters of Lake Tezcuco in 
ancient times washed its base, and before the conquest 
by Cortes it was a favorite resort of Montezuma, who 
had a palace there and was accustomed to walk through 
the ciy-press groves in his hours of recreation and retire- 
ment. On one side, the hill was inaccessible, being a 
sheer precipice of rock. On the other, it was sur- 
rounded by two massive stone walls, with ditches. A 
handsome building crowned its summit, where was the 
military academy of the republic and the citadel of the 
fortress. Half-way up the hill was the Glorieta, a 
redoubt, manned with guns and nearly four hundred 
men. The assault was made on the 13th of Sep- 
tember. 

As usual, the Sixth Infantry was prominent in this 
action. Where Lieutenant Hancock was, a letter from 
him to his brother tells : — 



66 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

CiTT OF ISIexico, Dec. 6, 1847. 

Mt Dear Hilary : — I am again made happy by the arrival 
of three letters from home. 

You ask me if I have been in battle? I answer, proudly, 
yes ! Besides being in several skirmishes on the road from 
Puebla to Vera Cruz, — in all of which I can truly sa}^ I have 
endeavored to do my duty, — it was my part to participate in 
the battles of San Antonio, Churubusco, Mohno del Rey, 
and the conquest of the city of Mexico. I only missed the 
fight of Chapultepec by being sick in my tent, and off duty 
at the time. I shall always be sony that I was absent. I 
was l3'ing ill with chills and fever, directly under the fort, at 
the time the action began. I could not remain still under the 
firing ; but, wi'apping my blanket about me, I crept to the 
top of the roof of the nearest house, watched the fight, and 
had strength enough to cheer with the boj's when the Castle 
fell. The balls whizzed about me, but I kept m}- post, doing 
what I could ; and when I learned that the colors I saw 
hoisted on the conquered walls were those of my own regi- 
ment, my heart beat quick at the glorious sight. 

The winter has set in here, and some chill}- days are the 
consequence. The summits of lofty Popocatepetl are capped 
with more snow than is usual at this season. No snows, how- 
ever, are on the plains. Here the roads are open and man}' 
of them beautiful. The Almada, or great square of the 
capital, is far superior to anything of the kind in the United 
States. The carriage road on the outskirts is splendid, and, 
at times, crowded with gay equipages. It is also a fashion- 
able resort for walks. Its age is thi-ee centuries. 

Give my love to father, mother, brother John, and all my 
other friends. 

WiNFIELD. 

General Scott, in his official report, gives a brief and 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 67 

vivid description of the assault which Lieutenant Han- 
cock saw from the house-top. He says : — 

"A strong redoubt, midway, had to be carried before 
reaching the castle on the heights. The advance of our brave 
men, led by brave ofBcers, though necessarily slow, was un- 
wavering, over rocks, chasms, and mines, and under the hot- 
test fire of cannon and musketry. The redoubt now yielded 
to resistless valor, and the shouts that followed announced to 
the castle the fate that impended. The enemy were steadUy 
driven from shelter to shelter. The retreat allowed not time 
to fire a single mine without the certainty of blowing up 
friend and foe. Those who, at a distance, attempted to apply 
matches to the long trains, were shot down by our men. 
There was death below as well as above the ground. At 
length the ditch and wall of the main work were reached ; the 
scaling-ladders were brought up and planted by the storming 
parties ; some of the daring spirits, first in the assault, were 
cast down, killed or wounded ; but a lodgment was soon 
made ; streams of heroes followed ; all opposition was over- 
come, and several of our regimental colors flung out from the 
upper walls, amidst long-continued shouts and cheers, which 
sent dismay into the capital. No scene could have been 
more animating or glorious." 

The great dependence of the Mexicans had been 
placed upon Chapultepec, which many had believed to 
be impregnable ; and when that fell, the city of Mexico 
fell with it. There were yet batteries to be taken, bar- 
ricades to be passed, and fortified houses to be cleared 
of combatants. But on the night of that day, Sept. 
13, 1847, General "Worth's division slept within the 
city walls, and on the 14th, the grand entry of the 



6S LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

American army was made. As General Scott says in 
his autobiography : " Under a brilliant sun, I entered 
the city at the head of the cavalry, cheered by Worth's 
division of regulars, all the bands playing, in succes- 
sion, ' Hail Columbia,' 'Washington's March,' 'Yankee 
Doodle,' 'Hail to the Chief,' etc," The American 
army had dwindled to six thousand by casualties and 
disease ; and these troops entered the city in the un- 
dress uniforms in which they had marched so many 
weary miles, and fought so many desperate battles. 
To behold so novel a spectacle, the various streets 
poured forth their thousands of spectators, and the 
balconies and house-tops were filled with a gay and 
picturesque throng. So dense was the crowd that it 
was frequently necessary to halt until the pressure was 
removed. 

There was no further fighting, except desultory 
efforts of the mob and released criminals to create 
disturbance, which were put down by prompt measures, 
and the army of conquest became an army of occupa- 
tion. A treaty of peace was signed in February of 
the following year. Lieutenant Hancock's regiment 
remained with the rest, and we find him writinof home 
his impressions of a Mexican winter : — 

Near Toluca, Jan. 5, 1848. 

Mt Dear Father : — We have another snow mountain 
overlooking us, the Neviado. When the wind blows from 
that direction it is bitterly cold. But January is the end of 
the Mexican winter. The days begin to grow warmer r.s the 
month advances, although the nights continue chilly. There 



■WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 69 

are no fireplaces, and, consequently, no fires ; as we more 
northern born find to our great discomfort. The valley of 
Toluca is most beautiful, and very fertile. Like all the other - 
Mexican valleys I have seen, it is perfectly level, as if it had 
once been the bottom of a large lake. Some of these won- 
derful areas look like the craters of extinct volcanoes. In 
the valley of Mexico, one of the remainiug lakes is twenty 
miles long and fifteen broad. The variety of fruits produced 
here is astonishing. On one of the market days, recently, 
over fifty different kinds were on sale. Think of opening a 
fine, fresh, ripe watermelon in the month of January. Love 
to all. 

"WiNFIELD. 

In the series of battles which attended the march of 
Scott's victorious army from Vera Cruz to the city of 
Mexico, young Hancock, then in his twenty-fourth year, 
had proved himself a true soldier. The opportunity 
for which he had longed had come to him, and he had 
shown those strong and sterling traits of character from 
which, in later years, there was to develop the hero 
and the statesman. His name was honorably mentioned 
in the reports, and his gallantry and capacity were 
officially recognized, as before stated, by the brevet 
" for gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and 
Churubusco." The brevet commission he received in 
August, 1848, dating from that hot day, one year 
before, when he led his men against the tete dupontat 
Churubusco. His native State of Pennsylvania also 
acknowledged his services in a series of resolutions 
adopted by the Legislature, in which his name, with 
those of other Pennsylvania soldiers, was mentioned. 



70 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER V. 

Lieutenant Hancock Returns to the Department of the West. — Ho 
becomes Eegimental Quartermaster, and then Adjutant. — His Mar- 
riage at St. Louis. — Steady Advancement iu his Profession. — The 
Seminole War. — Brigham Young's Declaration of Independence. — 
Harne\''s March to Salt Lake. — Hancock Ordered to California. 

Lieutenant Hancock remained in Mexico to the very 
end of the war, saw the Mexican flag again raised on 
the citadel after the treaty of peace had been succeeded 
by the evacuation, and then returned home with his 
command. 

Then there followed a period of rest and routine 
duties at the western stations. Our western frontier 
was rapidly extending ; more rapidly since the Mexican 
war had opened California to our settlers. And Fort 
Crawford and Jefferson Barracks, where Lieutenant 
Hancock passed the next two years, were becoming 
constantly of less account except as depots. 

June 30, 1848, Lieutenant Hancock was made Reg- 
imental Quartermaster, serving iu that capacity until 
Oct. 1, 1849, when he was made Adjutant. He thus 
acquired that practical experience of the duties of the 
several positions which was required to supplement his 
theoretical training. He had already passed the test 
of battle ; he was now acquiring the details of man- 
agement. 

Here he began to show evidences of the remarkable 



WINFEELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 71 

administrative talent which afterwards distinguished 
him, and which marked him as peculiarly fitted for 
executive duties. General Clarke, under whom he had 
served with such gallantry in Mexico, was in command 
of the Department of the West, with headquarters at 
St. Louis ; and under him Lieutenant Hancock served 
for the next six years, being stationed at St. Louis and 
at Jefferson Barracks, about tvvelve miles down the 
river. We find him constantly charged with new re- 
sponsibilities, and steadily advancing in the line of his 
profession. He was promoted to a full Second Lieu- 
tenancy, Jan. 27, 1853, and took a place on Gen- 
eral Clarke's staff. June 19, 1855, he was appointed 
Assistant Adjutant-General of the Department of the 
West, and served in that capacity until the Seminole 
war broke out in Florida, when he was sent to Fort 
Myers with the rank of Captain and Assistant Quar- 
termaster. 

It was during his residence at St. Louis that Lieu- 
tenant Hancock, on the 24th of January, 1850, married 
Miss Almira Eussell, daughter of Samuel Eussell, a 
merchant of that city. 

The service of Captain Hancock in the Seminole war 
was confined to the post of Fort Myers, near St. 
Augustine, where he did quartermaster duty ; and 
at the close of that enterprise, the country having for- 
tunately no use for its army beyond a sort of police 
duty, he was sent with his regiment to Leavenworth, 
Kan., to exert a quieting influence upon the turbulent 
spirits of that era of border ruffianism. 

It was at this time, 1857, that Brigham Young 



72 LIFE AJSTD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

undertook to set up an independent government of 
his own in Utah. The Mormons, under his able lead- 
ership, had conquered for themselves a home in the 
midst of natural difficulties of the harshest sort ; had 
secured a foothold in the centre of the continent ; and, 
if allowed autonomy, they would, in years to come, 
have in their hands the key to all trans-continental 
transportation and travel. This was evidently the 
dream of the far-seeing and hard-headed prophet who 
had led this people out from a land of persecution and 
established a theocracy in the wilderness. As Floyd, 
then Secretary of War, stated the situation in his re- 
port to the Thirty-fifth Congress : " From the time 
their numbers reached a point sufficient to constitute a 
community capable of anything like independent action, 
this people have claimed to detach themselves from the 
bindino; oblio^ations of the laws which oroverned the com- 
munities where they chanced to live. They have substi- 
tuted for the laws of the land a theocracy, having for 
its head an individual whom they profess to believe a 
prophet of God. This prophet demands obedience and 
receives it implicitly from his people, in virtue of what 
he assures them to be authority derived from revela 
tions received by him from Heaven. When he finds it 
convenient to exercise an}^ special command, these 
opportune revelations of a higher law come to his aid. 
From his decrees there is no appeal ; against his will 
there is no resistance." 

Just at this time the people of the United States had 
become thoroughly aroused at the manner in which the 
Mormon prophet was exercising his power. In order 
to prevent the encroachment of " Gentiles " upon his 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 73 

Pramised Land, ho had even resorted to massacre, either 
by his own men or through his Indian allies ; he had 
refused to yield to the authority of the Federal govern- 
ment in matters over which it had control ; and, in 
short, he had set up as a sovereign monarch in the path 
of our emigi'ation across the continent, to obstruct or 
to favor, as it might please his mightiness. 

Under these circumstances. President Buchanan re- 
solved to exercise the authority given him by the Con- 
stitution and the laws, and remove from the govern- 
ment of. the Territory of Utah an official who 
combined in so dangerous a manner the monarchical 
and ci\41 authority. He appointed Mr. Cummings to 
be governor of Utah, in Brigham Young's place ; and 
on the latter's refusal to retire, he sent out a sufficient 
force under General Harney to compel the prophet's 
acquiescence. Captain Hancock was in the command 
assigned to this expedition. 

Although the attempted secession of Brigham Young 
was something like a tempest in a tea-pot, when con- 
sidered in comparison with the greater movement we 
have since seen, it w^as not then to be lightly treated. 
The prophet's proclamation, as governor of Utah, was 
really a declaration of war against the United States. 
It opened thus : "^ We are invaded by a hostile force 
who are evidently assailing us to accomplish our over- 
throw and destruction. For twenty-five years we have 
trusted officials of the government only to be insulted 
and betrayed. Our houses have been plundered, and 
then burned ; our fields laid waste ; our principal men 
butchered while under the pledged faith of the govern- 
ment for their safety ; and our families driven from 



74 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

their homes to find that shelter in the barren wilderness 
and that protection among hostile savages which were 
denied them in the boasted abodes of Christianity and 
civilization." Then he goes on to declare martial law, 
and to call upon the people to " stand in their own 
defence." 

It was, indeed, a very pretty little rebellion, as far 
as it got ; and it was only by good management on the 
part of the officers of the Harney expedition that it 
did not go much further. Here, for instance, is a 
sample of the orders under which the Mormon militia 
and guerillas fought. It is an order issued by one of 
the " apostles " in the Mormon hierarchy ; — 

Headquarters Eastern Expedition, ) 
Oct. 4, 1857. / 
To Major Joseph Taylor : 

You will proceed with all possible despatch to the Oregon 
road, near the bend of Bear River. When 3-011 approach the 
road, send scouts ahead to ascertain if the invading troops 
have passed that way. Should they have passed, take a 
concealed route and get ahead of them. On ascertaining the 
loeaUty or route of the. troops, proceed at once to annoy 
them in every possible way. Use ever}' exertion to stampede 
their animals, and set fire to tlieir trains. Burn the whole 
country before them and on their flanks. Keep them from 
sleeping at night by surprises ; blockade the road by felling 
trees or destro3-ing river-fords ; watch for opportunities to 
set fire to the grass on their windward, so as, if possible, to 
envelope their trains. Leave no grass before them that can 
be burned. Take no life, but annoy them and destroy their 
trains. 

God bless you and give 3'ou success. 

Your brother iu Christ, Daniel U. "Wells. 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 75 

Throu2;h this rc2;ion of fanatical guerillas and into 
the heart of hostile Mormondom the accidents of the 
service took Captain Hancock. When the mission of 
General Harney was concluded, and Brigham Young 
was reduced to at least apparent acquiescence in the 
inevitable, Captain Hancock's command was ordered to 
the Pacific coast. Straight across the continent, in the 
days when the slow-moving ox-team marked the rate 
of the traveller's progress, instead of the lightning- 
express train, he led his company from Fort Bridger 
in Utah to Benicia in California, under the shadow of 
Monte Diablo. It took his command three months to 
make the journey. Thence he was transferred to Los 
Angeles, having been made Chief Quartermaster of the 
Southern District of California. 

It was here that the outbreak of the war of the 
Rebellion found Winfield Scott Hancock. He was 
ready for his country's use. The patriotic soul, the 
native ability, the hard-earned experience were all 
there ; and the opportunity had come. It was for this 
service that his parents had trained him to honor and 
self-reliance in his Pennsylvania home ; that he had 
been tried in the hottest furnace of war in Mexico ; 
and that for years he had been studying the work of 
practical army administration in comparative quiet. 
The providence which directs the afiairs of men had 
prepared in Winfield Scott Hancock a heroic servant 
of the people against their time of need. That time 
had now come. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 



IP-A. I^ T X 11 



THE PATRIOT 



CHAPTER I. 

The Fire npon Sumter. — How the News was received, in California. 

— Captain Hancocli's Efforts to keep the State in tlie Union. — He 
at once asks to be ordered into Active Service. — Is conunissioued 
Brigadier-General of Volnuteers. — The Army of the Potomac. 

The echoes of the cannon-shot fired that Friday 
morning in April, 1861, against the walls of Fort 
Sumter, were heard across the continent. They were 
heard with differing sentiments among the people of 
California. Southern California, in which Los Ange- 
les is situated, most certainly did not hear these sounds 
of actual rebellion with entire disapprobation. For dis- 
union ideas had propagated quite across the land, and 
on the Pacific, as well as on the Gulf, there were those 
who looked longingly for a Southern Confederacy ; for 
the disi-uption of the Union ; for the substitution of the 
stars and bars for the stars and stripes. 

It was quite natural that this sentiment should exist 
in California. That State was separated from the rest 
of the Union by the distance of half a continent. The 
means of communication were poor and laborious. No 
Pacific Railroad put its iron bands across the land and 
anchored the West to the East ; but we were almost as 
two peoples, one in name but divided in sympathy. 

In Southern California disunion sentiment was espe- 
cially rampant. It was not comfortable for a man to 
be known as a Unionist there. That section was ready 



80 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to drop out and join the Confederacy, even if the 
northern part of the-State should stay in the Union. 

And here it was that Captain Hancock was stationed, 
entrusted with a vast amount of government stores 
and mtiterial, in his capacity of District Quartermaster, 
in the midst of disunion purposes. There was nothing 
covert about the expressions of sympathy with the 
South and hostility toward the North with which he was 
surrounded. Much of the population of California 
came from the South, and its ideas were largely South- 
ern. These ideas were proclaimed without restraint 
and without fear. Popular outl)reaks were seriously 
threatened against the authorities which retained their 
allegiance to the Union. The situation in California 
was, indeed, even more critical than in many of the 
border States whose loyalty was most questionable. 
The danger was, that all that immense country, whose 
richness was just developing, would be carried away as 
one of the brightest trophies of the Confederacy. 

The position which Captain Hancock occupied at 
this moment was a most trying one. In case of an 
outbreak, or the success of the secession movement in 
California, his department would be the first to suffer, 
as the supplies under his control offered a tempting 
prize. On the other hand, should he weaken in his 
loyalty to the Union, and give even tacit encourage- 
ment to the rebellious spirit about him, he would find 
himself on the top wave of popularity, and at once a 
hero of the people. 

In this crisis the intrinsic character of the man dis- 
played itself. He declared himself without hesitation. 



WENFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 8l 

He threw his personal influence, which was great, 
against the rapidly developing secession sentiment ; 
and in his official position he was unyielding. To 
emphasize his earnestness in the matter, he at once 
applied to the governor of Pennsylvania, his native 
State, for a command in the volunteers then being 
raised for service ; and while awaiting an answer to his 
application he devoted himself to encouraging and 
spreading Union sentiments in California. By public 
speeches and by loyal example the young patriot 
labored in the midst of an unfriendly community, per- 
forming services that were of the greatest value in 
retaining California in its place in the Union. His 
course met the approval of the government and of the 
loyal people of the whole country. 

In his course at this time, Captain Hancock was true 
to the traditions of his family and to the teachings of 
his youth. He displayed the qualities of high honor, 
of strict conscientiousness, and of inflexible devotion 
to duty which marked his conduct from his very boy- 
hood days, and which later developed so grandly in a 
wider field. 

In the flurry and demoralization of the opening days 
of the war for the Union, Captain Hancock's request 
for a command in the Pennsylvania volunteers lay for 
some time unanswered. But his was not a spirit to 
brook inaction. With North and South simultaneously 
rising to arms, his impulse urged him irresistibly to 
share the conflict. With the government to which he 
had sworn allegiance in danger, his sword could not 
rest undrawn in its defence. 



82 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Burning to serve his country in the field, Captain 
Hancock then applied to the Department at Washing- 
ton to be ordered East for active ser\4ce. It was a 
characteristic course for the young officer to take ; and 
it proved a most fortunate step in his career. Regular 
army officers of undoubted and pronounced loyalty 
were in demand at that time, for the organization of the 
army of volunteers collecting in the several States. 
There was no mistaking the quality of Captain Han- 
cock's metal ; and General Scott, who had personal 
knowledge of his impetuous gallantry, and his real 
soldieriy ability while serving in the sharp and hot 
Mexican war, at once ordered him East in accordance 
with his request. 

The order for his transfer came Aug. 3, 1861, and 
Captain Hancock at once turned over the Quartermas- 
ter's Department to his successor, and started for the 
East, reaching New York in September. Without 
stopping for a moment, even to visit his parents at 
Norristown, although he had then been absent from 
them for more than two years, he pushed straight on 
to Washington, and reported to the War Department 
for active service. 

At this time Captain Hancock was thirty-eight years 
of age. He had served with distinction in the war with 
Mexico and in the everglades of Florida. He had 
patiently performed the routine duties of the frontier 
posts at the West. He had studied the situation be- 
tween the Union and the seceding States, and had 
definitely made up his mind as to which side called him 
as a true servant of his country. Although never a 



WENTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 83 

politician, he was a stanch Democrat by conviction, 
earnest in his support of constitutional government, 
and in every sense a patriot. 

Captain Hancock's eagerness for active employment, 
the unmistakable loyalt}'' of his purpose, his brilliant 
services as a lieutenant, and his soldierly bearing when 
he reported for duty at Washington, brought him prom- 
inently to the notice of President Lincoln, and ho was 
at once assigned to the post of Chief Quartermaster on 
the staif of Gen. Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort 
Sumter, who had been placed in command of the volun- 
teer force which he was raisino; in the State of Ken- 
tucky. But fortune placed him elsewhere. General 
McClellan, a fellow-cadet of Hancock, who also had 
won his first brevet in the same battles of Contreras 
and Churubusco, had, in July previous, come into com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan Iviiew 
the sort of men that he needed, and he knew that 
Captain Hancock was one of them. He at once made 
formal application for the commission of Hancock as 
Brio'adier-General of Volunteers, and Ms assio;nment 
to service in the Army of the Potomac. This applica- 
tion was made unexpectedly to Captain Hancock, and 
without any solicitation on the part of his friends. 
And thus he was placed with the army to whose achieve- 
ments he was to add so much glory, and where he was 
to make the world-wide reputation which now belongs 
to him, as one of the greatest generals of the age. 

The commission of General Hancock was dated Sept. 
23, 1861, and he was assigned to the division of the 



84 LEFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Army of the Potomac commanded by Gen. "Baldy" 
Smith, lying across the chain bridge near Lewinsville. 
Until March, 1862, General Hancock was engaged in 
the defences of AVashinijton. After that time he was 
in the field. His career as a patriot soldier was begun. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJSXOCK. 85 



CHAPTEE II. 

The PeniusHlar Campaign. — Siege and Capture of Yorktown. — Pur- 
suit of the Confederates. — The Battle of Williamsburg. — Hooker 
Repulsed at Fort Magruder. — Hancock Turns the Enemy's Flank 
and Saves the Day. — The Charge Down the Hill. — "Hancock was 
Superb." 

In the latter part of March, 1862, the Army of the 
Potomac, which McClellan had collected and organized 
at Washington, was transported to Fortress Monroe, 
and there began the great Peninsular Campaign, which 
commenced with Yorktown and ended with the terrible 
seven days' conflict before Richmond. This so-called 
Peninsula was the tract of land, low and often marshy, 
lying between the York and James rivers. Yorktown 
lay about twenty miles from Fortress Monroe ; Rich- 
mond about seventy-five miles in a straight line. 
McClellan's army of over one hundred thousand men, 
with animals, batteries, wagons, and all the enormous 
equipage required for such a host, was transported from 
Alexandria to Fortress Monroe, with what a European 
critic has called " the stride of a giant," and with the 
loss of only eight mules and nine barges, and the cam- 
paign was begun in which Hancock held his first gen- 
eral command. 

General Hancock's brigade consisted of four fine 
regiments, the Fifth Wisconsin, the Sixth Maine, the 



8Q LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, and the Forty-third New 
York. They were well officered and well drilled ; and 
under Hancock's training they soon acquired the steadi- 
ness and nerve of veterans. Even before he led them 
into an engagement, he felt and knew that they could 
be depended upon in any emergency. Nor did they 
forfeit his confidence. He little knew what these regi- 
ments were to do for him. His purpose and aim in 
their drill and tuition were to create an arm for effective 
service in the cause of his country. But it was good 
material with which to work, and ho fashioned an 
instrument that was to make his name immortal. 

As soon as Smith's division landed at Hampton, it 
was sent to lead the advance on the left of the York- 
town lines, where McClellan thought he had discovered 
a weak spot, near Lee's Mill. This was a dam covered 
by a battery. Here four companies of the Vermont 
troops crossed the creek, wading breast-deep under a 
heavy fire from eighteen guns, and carried the Con- 
federate rifle-trenches. Failins: to receive reinforce- 
ments, they were obliged to retire. 

In the meantime the army had been feeling its way 
throuijh the woods, and Hancock's bris^ade was sent to 
the right, making a reconnoissance in force and develop- 
ing the enemy's lines in a direction where the Union 
line was not 3'et complete. The result of this recon- 
noissance, when the attempt to break the enemy's hue 
on the left had fiiilcd, Was to determine General 
McClellan upon taldng Yorkto"sm by siege ; and from 
the 7th of April until the evacuation of Yorktown, May 
3, Hancock and his brigade were constantly on duty 



"WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 87 

in the trenches or sldrmishing with the Confederate 
pickets. 

When, on the morning of May 4, after heavy can- 
nonading by the Union batteries, it was found that the 
Confederate works were deserted, there began a race 
along the roads leading to Eichmond, after the flying 
<?nemy. They caught up with them at AVilliamsburg, 
M^here the rebels had built another line of fortifications, 
extending almost entirely across the Peninsula from 
river to river. Eain came on and rendered the roads 
almost impassable. General Hooker took up position 
on the left and made an ineflectual attempt to capture 
Fort Magruder at that end of the line. He was forced 
to withdraw, with the loss of seventeen hundred men. 

Now came the first opportunity for Hancock to dis- 
play those qualities of generalship which he possessed, 
and to leap at once to fame as a patriot soldier. All 
before this had been skirmishino'. He was now to do 
a deed of vv^ar. 

Smith's division, occupying a position on the right of 
our line, had not engaged the enemy. But, towards 
noon of May 5, General Hancock obtained permission 
to reconnoitre the Confederate left. Taking two addi- 
tional regiments and two light batteries, he moved a 
mile or more to the right, carefully feeling the strength 
of the enemy. Coming to an opening in the woods, 
he saw before him a deep ravine with a dam across it, 
and on the opposite bluff a rebel fortification, the 
extreme left of the line of works. A glance was 
enough to show that it was not strongly manned. The 
word was given, the troops poured across the old mill 



88 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

bridge and dam, swarmed up the bluff and captured 
the redoubt. With equal expedition a road was made 
for the artillery, which was speedily dragged across. 
Twelve hundred yards in advance was another re- 
doubt, which was taken in the same manner. 

It was a masterly stroke, and one which proved of 
the first importance in the battle of Williamsburg. 
By one quick movement, Hancock had turned the 
enemy's flank and debouched upon his rear ; and un- 
less he could be stopped and driven back, the whole 
Confederate line would be untenable. 

When Hancock formed his brigade in line of battle 
within the enemy's fortifications on the crest of the hill 
which he had seized, and brought up his artillery, he 
found there were two more redoubts between him and 
Fort Magruder and directed his fire upon these. Send- 
ing his two batteries to the front, he began an artillery 
duel. But the situation was a dangerous one. Han- 
cock's little command was shut off by a deep and 
almost impassable ravine from the rest of the troops, 
while in front was the whole rebel army, an overwhelm- 
ing force. He sent for reinforcements, l)ut none came. 
On the contrar}', he received orders to retire. But 
Hancock, realizing the commanding importance of the 
position he had taken, delayed as long as possible exe- 
cuting the order from General Sumner. He knew that, 
with adequate support, the Confederate army was at our 
mercy. 

It was not until five o'clock that he gave the com- 
mand to fall back. Then, the rebel General Johnston 
had finished with Hooker at Fort Mao-ruder, and was 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 89 

making preparations to avert the danger on Ms left 
flank by overwhelming Hancock's audacious advance. 
Hancock saw that the Confederates were in motion on 
his front, and that they had reoccupied the two redoubts 
from which they had last been driven ; but hardly had 
he called baclv his batteries from their advanced position, 
when, with a tremendous cheer, Early's troops poured 
out of the woods on his right, and formed in two 
splendid lines of battle, advancing rapidly. 

This was, perhaps, the most critical point of Han- 
cock's military career. He had ventured all on this, his 
first really important separate movement in the cam- 
paign. He had led his brigade into a position where 
it was confronted by a vastly larger force, with the 
road of retreat cut off. Retreat, indeed, could mean 
nothing but rout, overthrow and capture ; and with 
this, a shock to his rising reputation from which it might 
never recover. On the other hand, victory against 
such odds meant immediate fame. 

If he could trust his men, he might yet win. He 
could trust them. More than that, the}^ could trust 
their commander. They stood firm. 

Hancock formed his line, as Early's troops marched 
on with shouts. He had about sixteen hundred men. 
His two batteries played upon the advancing Con- 
federates, but without checking their onset. Forward 
they came, regardless of shell, and hardly stopping 
for canister, swept around and almost enveloped the 
artillery, which turned quickly, rattled up the hill, and 
went into battery again upon the slope. Backward the 
brigade retreated slowly, firing steadily as if at practice- 



90 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

drill. Now the impetuous charge comes nearer, and 
the taunting shouts of Early's men arc heard above the 
crack of the rifles : " Bull Kun ! Bull Run ! That flag 
is ours ! " 

Hancock had been sittinsf on his horse close behind 
the centre of the line, watching with impenetrable face 
the phases of the action. What he thought at this 
supreme moment, no one can tell. What he did the 
world knows. 

The yelling Confederates, in double line, were swarm- 
ing up the slope of the hill on which his little brigade 
was drawn up. The flush of anticipated victory was 
upon every face of that advancing multitude ; the tone 
of victory was heard in every voice. They were within 
thirty yards when Hancock, waving his hat in his hand, 
dashed forward in front of his men, and shouting, 
" Gentlemen ! charge ! " led the advance, bare-headed, 
down the hill and upon the enemy. 

It seemed madness to attempt to turn back the mass 
that was sweeping up the hill. There it was, surging 
upward, vast, irregular, apparently irresistible, so near 
at hand that the men on either side could see the 
features of their opponents. But Hancock knew his 
own power and the power of his men. It was not a 
mad venture ; it was a triumph of personal courage, and 
of that military genius which divines by instinct Avhen 
safety lies in rashness. 

Hancock risked his own life and the lives of his men ; 
and he won the day. At one instant the bristling and 
grisly line of the Confederate charge was in front of 
the briscade ; the next there flashed between them and 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 91 

the line this vision of valor incarnate ; and with a shout 
that drowned the crackling of musketry his men 
followed where Hancock led. With lowered bayonets, 
and Avith line as perfect as if on parade, the brigade 
advanced. 

The rebel line faltered, stopped, turned with a com- 
mon impulse and slowly retreated down the hill before 
this gallant onslaught. They were not cowards ; they 
only lacked the inspiration of such a leader as Hancock. 
They were, indeed, brave men. This was one of the 
few occasions during the war where bayonet-wounds 
were received in an actual charge of infantry. It is in 
official evidence that Hancock's men were oblisfed to 
bayonet the foremost of their assailants before the line 
broke. 

Down the hill they went, the martial figure of Hancock 
on his horse marking the point where the hostile forces 
were joined in combat. They fought well and des- 
perately, leaving five hundred corpses on that hillside. 
Others held up white handkerchiefs and surrendered. 
Of Hancock's little brigade, one hundred and twenty- 
nine were killed. 

Then it was that reinforcements were sent to Han- 
cock. General McClellan, arriving at the front, ap- 
preciated the value of the position taken by Hancock, 
and immediately ordered that he should receive the 
support he had asked for. 

By this time it was night. The firing in front of 
Fort Magpuder had ceased, and the troops, wet, tired, 
and hungry, slept on their arms in the mud. But Wil- 
liamsburg was won. Hancock, in his first engagement 



92 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES Or 

as a general commander, had by one bold and masterly 
movement seized the key of the position ; by his fiery 
personal valor he had snatched victory out of the jaws 
of defeat, and had turned disaster into glorious success. 

Leaving the ground covered with their dead and 
wounded, the Confederates hastened away under cover 
of the night to join the rest of Johnston's army, now 
marching rapidly towards the Chickahominy. Hancock 
had made Williamsburg untenable. 

This was Hancock's first glory ; and it was a sub- 
stantial one. In that single day he rose from an 
obscure subordinate ofiicer to a general whose name 
and whose praises were heralded from Maine to Cali- 
fornia. His opportunity had come, and he had seized 
it. He had won a national reputation. 

Few of the generals of the Army of the Potomac, 
if any, would have taken the chances which Hancock 
took when he moved his little brigade across the ravine 
to flank the whole rebel army. But it was not reck- 
lessness which led him to take this chance. It was the 
ready judgment of the trained leader which gave him 
that prescient knowledge which passes for good for- 
tune. Hancock knew what he could expect from his 
men, and he had confidence in himself. He was not 
disappointed, nor did he disappoint the country whose 
anxious attention was then centred upon the advance 
of the army of the Potomac up the Peninsula. 

In his telegraphed report of this battle, made to 
President Lincoln, General McClcUan said : " Hancock 
was superb." All who saw his tall figure dashing down 
the hill, leading his troops against the advancing army 



WENFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 93 

of Early and Longstreet, acknowledge the accuracy of 
this description. In his more detailed and formal ac- 
count of the battle, McClellan says : "Before Generals 
Smith and Nagle could reach the field of General 
Hancock's operations, although they moved with great 
rapidity, he had been confronted by a superior force. 
Feigning to retreat slowly, he awaited their onset, and 
then turned upon them, and after some terrific volleys 
of musketry, he charged them with the bayonet, rout- 
ing and dispersing their whole force, killing, wound- 
ing and capturing from five hundred to six hundred 
men, he himself losing only thirty-one men. 

" This was one of the most l)rilliant eno^agements of 
the war, and General Hancock merits the highest praise 
for the soldierly qualities displayed and his perfect 
appreciation of the vital importance of his position." 

The troops with which General Hancock achieved 
this brilliant success were the Seventh Maine and 
Thirty-third New York from Davidson's brigade, which 
was under Hancock's command at that time, and the 
Sixth Maine, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, and Fifth 
Wisconsin, detailed from his own brigade. 



94 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER ni. 

Hancock again Brevcttcd for Gallantry. — His "Work in the Prelimina- 
ries of th(i Peninsular Caiupai<;u. — His Care of his Men. — Military 
Discipline. — Skirmishing and Foraging. — Raids upon the Virginia 
Farms. — The Foragers' return to Camp with Spoils of War. — 
Mr. Vollin. — Capturing a Sleeping Beauty. 

It was for the bravery and skill shown in these 
earlier battles of the Peninsular Campaign that General 
Hancock received the brevet rank of Major in the 
regular army. Indeed, his merit and his capacity were 
promptly recognized at the War Department ; and the 
honors which the regular service confers only for sub- 
stantial achievements came thick and fost. Before 
the campaign was over, Hancock had received his third 
brevet since Churubusco, and held the honorary rank 
of Colonel in the United States army. 

During hi.s early connection with the Army of the 
Potomac, he was a busy commander. All his energies 
were taxed to their utmost to prepare his troops for 
active duty ; and how well this was done, their valiant 
service in critical periods subsequently testified. With- 
out etfcctivc troops, Hancock could never have won 
the wonderful successes that he did ; without Hancock's 
faithful and skilful labor, his troops could never have 
been brought to such a degree of efSciency. 

He Avas a strict disciplinarian, but nothing of a 
martinet. He exacted from those under him the same 



VVLNJblELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 95 

implicit and prompt obedience to orders which he him- 
self rendered to his superiors ; but he was, at the same 
time, the kindliest, most s^niipathetic, and most inspir- 
insr of commanders. All who served under him came 
to love and even worship him, such was the admiration 
he excited ; his subordinates prized his smile as highly 
as they dreaded his reproof. 

That part of Virginia in which the Army of the 
Potomac was operating was aflame with rebellion. 
There, too, the first pinching necessities of the war 
were felt. The country was transformed into a camp, 
where every male capable of bearing arms was held to 
be a soldier, and every crop was regarded as pledged to 
the support of the Southern troops. Parties of the 
Confederate cavalry scoured the country for recruits 
and for provisions. Every farm-house was an outpost 
of the enemy, or even an arsenal. Every tramp was 
a spy in disguise. Every bush might afford conceal- 
ment for a sharp-shooter. 

It was a desultory sort of warfare during the earlier 
part of the campaign, but not devoid of incident. A 
few weeks after General Hancock had assumed com- 
mand of his brigade at the front, a scouting-party, sent 
out along the roads leading to Fairfax Court House and 
Hunter's Mills, encountered an equal number of Con- 
federate cavalry on similar business. They immedi- 
ately gave chase, the rebels taking to the woods. In 
the hurry of the pursuit, while passing through a fruit- 
orchard, they did not observe that one of the rebels 
had dismounted and concealed himself behind a tree ; 
whence, resting his revolver ajrainst a branch, he fired 



96 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

three shots at the Major commanding the Union scouts. 
The bullets missed their mark. But when, returning 
from their unsuccessful pursuit of the rebels, they 
found this man endeavoring to make his escape, they 
"gathered him in," as the' army phrase was, and 
brought him liefore the General at headquarters. Han- 
cock at once recognized him as a notorious spy, through 
whose successful operations in our lines the enemy had 
received important and damaging information. 

"Your name is Vollin, I believe?" inquired the 
General. 

"Yes, sir," answered the spy, taken off his guard by 
the quick recognition and sharp interrogatory. 

" All ! Mr. Vollin, I am glad to see you ; we have 
been looking for you for some time." 

Vollin was not lono; left in doubt as to the conse- 
quences of his actions. Hancock was never cruel ; but 
he Avas unflinchins^ in executins; the laws of war. 

" You are aware of the fate prescribed for spies, Mr. 
Vollin?" continued the General. 

"I suppose I am," stammered the unfortunate fellow. 

" Then you will please prepare for it at your earliest 
convenience. Good morning, sir." 

The Maine and Wisconsin men in Hancock's brigade 
possessed a wonderful talent for the somewhat diflS- 
cult and delicate work of procuring supplies. The 
army, to a considerable extent, subsisted upon the 
country. To be sure, the Confederate troops scoured 
it pretty thoroughly ; and they had this advantage — 
that the Vir<xinia farmers of that section were Southern 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 97 

patriots, not Northern ones, and were more readily 
induced by them to contribute of their stores. 

But Hancock's men were active. They were largely 
country-bred, and knew by instinct where the poultry 
and the live-stock would be found, even amid the 
unfamiliar surroundings of a Virginia farm. This 
instinct they cultivated by constant forays from camp 
through the farms for miles around, bringing in hay, 
corn, sheep, and beef-cattle as spoils of war for the sub- 
sistence of the invaders. Nor were delicacies wanting. 
The entrance into camp of a returning foraging party, 
with chickens dangling by the legs from their musket- 
barrels, with pigs thrown across their saddles, and 
with shirt-fronts decorated with fresh vegetables, or 
bulging with carefully-carried eggs, would be greeted 
with shouts of admiring merriment. 

It was fun and food to our men ; it was anything but 
that to the poor farmers who found themselves by mis- 
fortune occupying a middle position between two con- 
tending armies, each with an inordinate appetite for 
fresh meat and early vegetables. They were robbed 
on both sides. One party took their bacon in the name 
of Southern patriotism ; the other carried off their beef 
in the name of Federal supremacy. Between the two, 
they were impoverished and ruined. Here at the 
North, hard as we thought the war to be, we knew 
nothing of its real and necessary cruelties. But, for 
all that, it is doubted whether the most delicate produc- 
tions of our most artistic cooks ever had the flavor of 
one of these lean and scraggy stolen Virginia chickens, 
speared with a bayonet and broiled on a ramrod. 



98 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Southern historians state that at even this time Lee's 
army was reduced to great extremity ; that there was 
seen the day when the Confederate chief had neither 
the means to cook the next meal for himself, nor to 
serve the next ration to his soldiers. Large foraging 
parties were sent out, and as these frequently met those 
of the Union army on the same errand, some important 
skirmishes resulted. It was on one of these occasions 
that Ord met Stuart and routed his four regiments and 
a six-gun batter}'. 

General Hancock's brigade also took part in the fre- 
quent reconnoissances that were required at this time, 
often taking on the form of a considerable march, and 
usually involving a skirmish which sometimes had 
almost the character of a battle. 

On one of these occasions, after a detachment of 
Hancock's command had driven a small body of Con- 
federates across the York River, they proceeded, under 
orders, as usual in such cases, to search the neighbor- 
ing houses, all being presumptiveh' occupied by rebel 
sympathizers, and possibly having granted shelter to 
some of the enemy. As the men entered one of these 
houses, they were accosted by the housewife : 

" What do you want ? " 

"We are looking for elohnnies, madam." 

"Well, there ain't none in this house, an' you better 
clear out quick." 

''It is our orders to search every house, madam, and 
we cannot leave until we have searched yours." 

" Search my house I I'd like to see Yankees do 
that ! " 



"WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 99 

" You sliall have that pleasure," was the reply, as 
some of the troops went down cellar, and others ex- 
amined the ground floor. 

" Now we will go up stairs," said the officer in com- 
mand. 

" Well, if you will, you must. But you won't find 
nobody up there but a poor old sick one." 

" Is it a sick man ? " 

"No, it ain't. It's my husband's aunt Betty; been 
sick going on ten years." 

" Wherc is she ? " 

" Up chamber there." 

Up they went, and there, as the woman said, tliey 
found a bed-ridden crone. But the form wJiich the bed- 
clothes outlined was more extended and ample than 
the shape of an old Avoman would warrant ; and mod- 
estly turning down the (X^veriet, they disclosed an 
armed Confederate, lying at length with his boots on. 
The boys named him at once the " Sleeping 'Beauty," 
and gathered him in. 

Hancock's brigade, during the preliminary week of 
the Peninsular Campaign, bore its share of the labors, 
and claimed its share of the sports and humors of the 
camp, the march, and the foray ; and it "svas in splendid 
condition xAmn its gallant leader took it into battle. 
Such a test as that at Wiiliamsburc: could l>e success- 
full}'' borne only by troops who liad learned to have 
conrldence in their commander, and who had by him 
been brought to a high state of military efficiency. 



100 LIFE AJSTD PUBLIC SERVICES OP 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Advance toward Richmond. — General Hancock's Letter to hia 
Mother. — Battle of the Chickahominy. — Golding's Farm. — Han- 
cock repulses Toombs' Assault — He holds the Enemy at Bay at 
White Oak Swamp. — The Seven Days' Retreat to Harriscm's 
Lauding. 

Hancock having decided the day at William.sburg, 
and turned the enemy in flight toward Richmond, the 
advance of McClellan's grand army was made with 
such rapidity as the horrible condition of the roads 
would permit. Those who have experienced it do not 
need to be told what Virginia mud is. Those who 
have not known it by experience can never realize it 
by description. It is deep, treacherous, and tenacious. 
It pervades everything. To walk in it is a toil of Her- 
cules. To ride is a constant misery. To drive a 
vehicle is to plough through sticky soil to the depth of 
the axles. 

Through this mud, reinforced by the heavy rains of 
the season, the Army of the Potomac was advanced 
along the line of the retreating Confederates. A base 
of supplies was established at White House, on the 
Pamunkey River, and. slowly repairing the lino of the 
York River and Riclimond Railroad, the column was 
pushed on in that section. By the 21st of May they 
had reached the Chickahominy River, behind which 
Johnston had retired with the purpose of making an 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 101 

aggressive demonstration at this point, with all the force 
he could command from Richmond. We find General 
Hancock writing home about this time : — 

In Camp neak Richmono, ) 
May 23. 18G2. / 

Mr Deak Mother: — I wi"ote to father a few days ago. 
It has been some time since I heard from him or you. I pre- 
smne some of 3'our letters have missed me in consequence of 
the changes of the field. 

I am weU, and so also is brother John. We are not in 
Richmond yet ; but trust we shall be there, all in good time. 

I hope that God in his good mercy wiU permit both your 
sons to reach that city in safety and in honor. 

I have not much time to write. Give my best love to 
father ; and beheve me. 

Your devoted son, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

Here the tide of war took a turn. The country just 
beyond the Chickahominy was the limit of the advance 
of the Unioii arms in this direction toward Richmond. 
From May into Juu',? there were skirmishes , demonstra- 
tions, and slow manosuvres ; toward the end of June 
came the famous "seven days'" and the retreat. In all 
these movements, Hancock fought among the foremost. 
His brigade continued in General Smith's division, now 
a part of a new provisional army corps, in command of 
Gen. W. B. Franklin, posted on the right of the main 
body. In the pestilential swamps of the Chickahominy 
his labors were arduous ; and, sharing the dangers and 
fatigues of all the principal attacks, he rendered impor- 



102 LIFE AOT) PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

tant aid in the retreat, by conducting the safe with- 
drawal of the men under his command. 

The battle of the Chickahominy, June 27, was fol- 
lowed by the engagements of Golding's Farm, Savage 
Station, White Oak Swamp, and the retreat to Harri- 
son's Landing, on successive days. General Hancock 
was prominent in all these fights, his brigade usually 
occupying the post of danger, and gaining new honors 
for bravery and persistence. 

At Golding's Farm, Hancock sustained and repulsed 
an attack of the enemy in force. The closing part of 
the fight showed on Hancock's part the tactics which he 
practised first at Williamsburg, and for which he 
became famous. That is, he held his position tena- 
ciously until the critical moment in the attack of the 
enemy arrived, and then carried demoralization before 
him by an impetuous charge. The best and most 
thoroughly disciplined troops can hardly stand under 
such a stroke ; but to accomplish this movement, it is 
necessar}'- that the commander should have the full con- 
fidence of his men. The secret of gaining and holding 
this confidence was possessed by Hancock. It was that 
the commander should share the peril of his troops and 
be seen by them. When a brigade commander, he was 
always xtmong his men, riding up and down close behind 
his line of battle, encouraging them by voice and 
example, and not only sharing their danger, but tak- 
ing }'et greater risk than that to which he required 
them to expose themselves. As he rose in rank, he 
continued the same practice, trusting less to his aids 
than perhaps any other general officer, but pushing his 



WINFIELD SCX)TT HANCOCK. 103 

orders through his personal presence, here, there, and 
everywhere over the field. He was always at the criti- 
cal point at the critical moment, and his troops always 
knew that they were fighting under the eye of a com- 
mander who did not know what fear was, and who 
would tolerate it in no one else. 

In illustration of this trait of character, the story is 
told of one of his subordinate oflicers, who, when he 
had his men in a tight place, rode up to the General, 
and said : 

"General, my men are all being killed; may I not 
withdraw them a little out of the fire ? " 

"No," replied Hancock, " I hope we shall be able to 
advance soon." 

" Then we shall all be killed," despondingly replied 
the officer. 

"Very well," said Hancock, "return to your troops, 
and if you fall you Avill have the satisfaction of know- 
ing you have died for your country." 

The fight of Golding's Farm was remarkable from 
the fact that it extended into the nioht. The scene of 
the contest, wdth the opposing forces blazing away at 
each other at close quarters all along the line, is 
described as one of the finest spectacles of the war. 

It was now no longer a questJbn of taking Kichmond, 
but of maldng a safe retreat to the James River, with a 
victorious enemy in the rear ; and the metal of Hancock 
and his troops was tested under these most trying cir- 
cumstances. The next assault which he had to sustain in 
protecting the rear of the retreat, Avas at Garnett's Hill. 
It was the purpose of the Confederates to force him 



104 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

back and separate his command from the main body of 
the army. The attack was opened with a heavy artil- 
lery fire of grape, shell, round shot, and shrapnel ; suc- 
ceedinof which, General Toombs led the assault of five 
regiments of Confederate infantry upon Hancock's 
force. The fight became almost hand to hand. It 
was short and sharp, and ended in repulse of the Con- 
federates. On the following morning, Toombs returned 
to the attack, but was again repulsed with heavy loss, 
Hancock holding the enemy in check at this point until 
he was able to make connection with the remainder of 
his division. The day after, June 29, he was engaged 
in similar hot work at Savage Station. 

The line of retreat to the James passed across White 
Oak Swamp, and Keyes' corps, which was in advance, 
had made the passage on the 28th, followed by the long 
train of five thousand wagons, and twenty-five hundred 
beef-cattle, all of which had to cross the morass by 
one narrow defile. 

Hancock's brigade had to protect this passage from 
the assault of the Confederate troops, hurried forward 
and massed in the rear of the retreating army. Sixty 
pieces of rebel artillery were posted on the other side 
of the ravine, whose opposite bank Hancock occupied, 
and poured their fire upon his men. The Confederate 
position could not be attacked, and no reply could be 
made to this terrible bombardment, except l:)y two or 
three of the Union batteries. Hancock's men, more- 
over, had for three days been marching by night and 
fighting by day, and were worn out by fatigue and loss 
of sleep. In such circumstances the best troops are 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 105 

liable to give way under the demoralizing effect of a 
heavy, concentrated, and continuous fire of artillery ; 
and the fact that these troops endured it without flinch- 
ing, told volumes of their bravery and discipline. Han- 
cock held his position throughout the day, sustaining 
the artillery fire and repelling the attacks of the infan- 
try, until the last wagon of the immense train of the 
retreating army was safely across the swamp. 

In the same arduous services General Hancock con- 
tinued until the Peninsular Campaign came to an end, 
four days after, by the arrival of McClellan's army at 
Harrison's Landing. He had mounted another step on 
the ladder of patriotic fame, and won his brevet of 
Colonel in the regular army " for gallant and meritori- 
ous conduct in the Peninsular Campaign." 



106 LIFE JlND public SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER Y. 

Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia. — Hancock Joins in the Move- 
ment to Centrcville. — McClellan's Maryland Campaign against 
Lea. — Hancock at Sonth Mountain. — Forcing Crampton's Pass. — 
Antietam. — Hancock takes Command of a Division. — His First 
Connection with the Second Army Corps. 

The Army of the Potomac having returned from its 
unsuccessful attempt to reach Richmond by forcing its 
path up the Peninsula, the following month of August 
was chiefly occupied with auxiliary operations. General 
Pope's campaign in Northern Virginia, so weak and 
disastrous, covers most of the military events of this 
month. General Hancock took a subsidiary part in 
this campaign, marching with his brigade to Centre ville 
in support of one of Pope's blundering movements. 

This was a dark day for the country. Not only" had 
the attempt to reach Richmond failed, but Pope's fol- 
lowing campaign, conducted with such a profusion of 
boastful and glowing despatclies and proclamations, had 
resulted disastrously. The North was despondent ; 
the South was exultant. Lee had proved his strength 
to hold the Confederate territory against all invaders ; 
now he purposed reversing the situation and becoming 
an invader himself. 

It is doubtful whether, when he set liis columns in 
motion from Richmond, he intended to carry the Con- 
federate Hag across the river that formed the dividing 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HAJfCOCK. 107 

line between the warring jiowers. It is certain that 
his army was wretchedly equipped and poorly provided. 
Lee himself says that thousands of his troops at this 
time were destitute of shoes. But, whether induced 
by incorrect representations of the popular feehng in 
Maryland, which Lee thought would lead the people to 
flock into his army as soon as he set foot on Northern 
soil, or for whatever reason, the whole Confederate army 
crossed the Potomac at Leesburg, by the fords near 
that place, in three days, between the 4tli and 7th of 
September, 1862, and encamped in the vicinity of 
Frederick. There the standard of revolt was formally 
raised, and the people of Maryland wore invited by proc- 
lamation of General Lee to join the Confederate force. 

Lee was disappointed when no recruits came. The 
ragged and shoeless condition of his troops operated 
strongly to quench the enthusiasm for service in the 
cause of the Confederacy. But there he was, across 
the border ; and the moral effect, as well as the military 
necessities of the campaign, required that he should 
hold his position. He could not retreat without at 
least measuring strength with the powerful army which 
he knew must be sent to repel Jiis invasion. 

So it was that the Maryland campaign came into 
existence. When the shattered battalions that sar- 
vived General Pope's disastrous campaign in Northern 
Virginia returned to Washington, President Lincoln 
requested General McClellan to resume command of 
the Army 6f the Potomac, which was increased in num- 
bers by the addition of other corps. " McClcllan's 
reappearance at the head of aflairs," says Swinton, 



108 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

'had the most beneficial effect on the army, whose 
morale immediately underwent an astonishing change. 
The heterogeneous mass, made up of the aggregation 
of the remnants of the two armies and the garrison of 
Washington, was reorganized into a compact body, — a 
work that had mostly to be done while the army was 
on the march ; and as soon as it became known that 
Lee had crossed the Potomac, McClellan moved toward 
Frederick to meet him." 

It was Lee's plan to dislodge the Union forces from 
Harper's Ferry before concentrating his army west of 
the mountains, and his arrangements and orders were 
all made for this enterprise. But, through a stroke of 
good fortune, a copy of Lee's order for the movement 
of troops fell into McClellan's hands, on the day of his 
arrival at Frederick, and forthwith there began a race 
for Harper's Ferry. The South jNIountain range had 
to be passed by the Union army, and toward the two 
principal passes. Turner's Gap and Crampton's Gap, 
the columns hastened. Lee had information of McClel- 
lan's movements, and had sent troops to the passes to 
meet them. Our men found the Confederates in- pos- 
session, and forthwith proceeded to break through. 
Hancock wa>s with Franklin's corps at Crampton's Pass, 
isix miles below Turner's Gap, where the other column 
was forcing its passage and where the gallant Reno 
was killed. It was hot work where Hancock was as 
well. The rebel General McLaws held the pass under 
orders not to permit the passage, " even if he lost his 
last man in doing it ; " and he held it well. But the 
forces under Hancock, whose duty it was to advance 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 109 

along the left of the road through the steep and narrow 
pass, drove back the Confederates from their position 
at the base of the mountain where they were protected 
by a stone wall, and forced them back up the slope of 
the mountain to near its summit. Here Hancock and 
his determined fellow-soldiers fought for three hours, 
until the crest was carried and four hundred prisoners 
taken. 

The battle of South Mountain was won, though at 
great cost, and not soon enough to save Harper's Ferry, 
which surrendered to the enemy the very morning that 
the reKeving army burst through the passes of South 
Mountain, with Hancock at the front. 

As the Confederates retired on the morning of the 
15th of September, McClellan pushed forward his whole 
army in pursuit ; but after a few miles' march the 
heads of the columns were brought to a sudden halt at 
Antietam Creek, where, on the heights crowning the 
west bank of the stream, Lee had taken his stand to 
oppose McClellan's pursuit. It was absolutely neces- 
sary for him to make a stand and give battle here, and 
he was ready to do it. 

Late in the afternoon of the 15th, the Union army 
dre^v up before the Antietam, and there rested over 
night. On the following day there was an artillery 
duel and some considerable skirmishing'. On the 17th 
the great battle was fought, contested with an obstinacy 
which certified the valor of both sides, and ending in a 
victory of which the honors were almost as great for 
the vanquished as for the victors. From five o'clock in 
the morning until seven o'clock at night the armies 



110 LITE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

contended with great slaughter. At the time, all who 
participated in it were fully convinced that they fought 
the greatest battle of the war ; and, indeed, it was the 
bloodiest and the most hotly contested up to that time. 
Both armies were almost exhausted when the sun 
went down. An army correspondent told the story of 
the situation at the close in this way : — 

''McClellan's glass for the last half-hour has seldom been 
toned away from the left. He sees clearl}' enough that Buru- 
side is pressed — needs no message to tell him that. His face 
grows darker with anxious thought. Looking down into the 
valley where fifteen hundred troops are Ij'iug, lie turns a half- 
questioning look on Fitz John Porter who stands by his side, 
gravely scanning the field. They are Porter's troops below ; 
are fresh, and onl}^ unpatient to share in this fight. But 
Porter slowl}' shakes his head, and one may believe that the 
same thought is passing through the minds of both generals. 
' They are the onlj^ reserves of the armj^ ; they cannot be 
spared.' 

" McClellan mounts his horse, and with Porter and a dozen 
officers of his staff rides away to the left in Burnsidc's dhec- 
tion. It is easy to see that the moment has come when every- 
thing may turn on one order given or withheld, when the 
history of the battle is only to be written in thoughts and 
purposes and words of the general. 

" Burnside's messenger rides up. His message is : ' I want 
troops and guns. If 3'oudo not send them, I cannot hold my 
IDOsition half an hour.' McClellan's only answer for a moment 
is a glance at the western sky. Then he turns and speaks 
veiy slowly : ' Tell General Burnside this is the battle of 
the wai\ He must hold his ground till dark at any cost. I 
will send him Miller's battery. I can do nothing more ; I 




'' '"-ri h^^v 












WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. Ill 

have no infantry.' Then, as the messenger was riding away, 
he called him back : ' Tell him if he cannot hold his ground, 
then the bridge, to the last man ! Alwa3's the bridge ! If the 
bridge is lost, all is lost.' 

" The sun is already down ; not half an hour of dajdight is 
left. Till Burnsidc's message came it had seemed plain to 
-every one that the battle could not be finished to-da3\ None 
suspected, how near was the peril of defeat, of sudden attack on 
exhausted forces — how vital to the safct3' of the army and the 
country were those fifteen hundred waiting troops of Fitz 
John Porter in the hollow. But the rebels halted instead of 
pushing on ; their vindictive cannonade died away as the 
light faded. Before it was quite dark the battle was over. 
Only a solitary gun thundered against the enem}', and presently 
this also ceased, and the field was still." 

There was great slaughter among the troops, and 
havoc among their generals. The sun went clown in 
blood. But here it was, on this sanguinary field, that 
Hancock won his next promotion. General Richardson, 
commanding the first division of the Second Corps, was 
mortally wounded, and Hancock was ordered to take 
his place in the field, and fight the battle where Rich- 
ardson was struck down. 

From this time dates General Hancock's connection 
with the old Second Army Corps which has become 
historic. His name and his fame are inseparably con- 
nected Avith the corps which carried as its emblem the 
clover-leaf, omen of good-luck. They came together 
amid the shrieking bullets of Antietam, and they earned 
glory together through the war. 



112 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER VI. 

Fredericks'burg. — Opening the Campaign of the Rappahannock. — 
Burnside succeeds McClellan. — Hancock receives his Commission 
as Major-General of Volunteers. — He Commands a Division on the 
March to Fredericksburg. — The Bloody Fight in the " Slaughter- 
Pen." — Hancock Wounded. 

The Confederate campaign in Maryland came to an 
end with the battle of Antietam, in which Hancock so 
distinguished himself. It lasted just two weeks ; and 
instead of passing into history as an invasion, it degen- 
erated into a raid. While its purpose was to raise the 
standard of revolt in Maryland and rally the citizens 
of that State about the Confederate flag, it resulted in 
the almost complete destruction of Lee's army. In- 
stead of receiving flocks of recruits from the rebel 
sympathizers in • Maryland, Lee saw his own forces 
d^vindling away so rapidly that he was forced to confess 
that his army was "ruined by straggling." In his 
oflicial report, he says : — " The arduous service in 
which our troops had been engaged, their great priva- 
tions of rest and food, and the long marches without 
shoes over mountain roads, had greatly reduced our 
ranks before the action [at Antietam] began. These 
causes had compelled thousands of brave men to absent 
themselves, and many more had done so from unwor- 
thy motives. This great battle was fought by less 
than forty thousand men on our side." After Antie- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 113 

tarn, Lee was quite ready to get back across the 
Potomac, taking with him less than thirty thousand of 
the seventy thousand troops with which he had entered 
Maryland. 

A short period of rest for the Army of the Potomac 
followed the battle of Antietam, in which General 
Hancock had for the first time assumed command of a 
division ; but when it became necessary to make a 
reconnoissance in force from Harper's Ferry to Charles- 
town, Va., it was naturally the dashing and successful 
Hancock who was ordered to lead the way. This was 
done about the middle of October, Hancock striking 
the line of the enemy, and driving him with the sharp 
fighting and the indomitable persistence for which he 
was already distinguished. Following this reconnois- 
sance, McClellan crossed the Potomac about five miles 
below Harper's Ferry, this movement ending his com- 
mand, General Burnside being appointed to take his 
place. 

Burnside's plan was to advance on Richmond by way 
of Fredericksburg ; and to accomplish this he proposed 
to move by the north bank of the Rappahannock to 
Falmouth, nearly opposite to Fredericksburg, then 
cross the river by a pontoon bridge, and seize the 
blufis on the south bank. The advance Avas made in 
three columns, Hancock being on the extreme right of 
the line. The discipline of his troops was as perfect 
as when he was in command of a much smaller force, 
and he made the march in good order, passing rapidly 
in advance of the main body, fording rivers and cross- 
ing hills and valleys while leading the way. 



114 LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEVICES OF 

One who made this march with Hancock thus de- 
scribes it : — " The coiuitiy from the Potomac to the 
Eappahannock presented the usual features of Virginia 
scenery. Tall chimneys standing, monuments of 
departed peace, in the midst of wastes that had once 
been farms. Not a cow, or chicken or pig, or any 
living or movable thing that had been the property of 
the inhabitants. One nest of squalid children staring 
from a forlorn cabin. A few dead horses and mules 
beside the roads. Six-mule army wagons, with blas- 
pheming drivers, whooping, lashing and cursing their 
way through the river, which is red as if it had all been 
soaked in their blood. Long processions of cavalry 
winding their way, like caravans, through the Virginian 
Sahara. The dismantled huts of deserted encamp- 
ments, the camp-fires still smoking, showing that the 
troops were just put in motion. The tents and wig- 
wams of the guards along the road, looking, in the 
chill wind that came down the ravines through hills 
spattered with snow, dismally uncomfortable." 

It was while this movement was in progress that 
Hancock received his commission as Major-General of 
Volunteers. This promotion was in recognition of the 
2:allantry and ability shown by Hancock in the pre- 
ceding campaign of the Army of the Potomac. 

Thus confirmed in his position as division commander. 
General Hancock led his ti'oops through the war- 
swept fields of Virginia to Fredericksburg. Arriving 
near Falmouth, on the opposite bank of the Eappahan- 
nock, he halted his division in a sheltered valley and 
gave his men the rest they needed before engaging in 
the terrible conflict that was before them. 



WnSTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 115 

But when the time for action arrived, Hancock was 
in the advance. On the night of the 12th of Decem- 
ber, 1862, he moved forward and crossed the river. 
When his force reached the position assigned it, directly 
in front of the enemy, the men were ankle-deep in 
mild, and the frosty winds of the Virginia winter were 
sweeping down the valley of the Rappahannock and 
chilling them to the bone. Yet so perfect was the 
discipline which Hancock maintained, that, while camp- 
fires were forbidden, the wet and cold ranks kept their 
positions in the line ; and together, officers and men, 
Hancock at their head, lay down under the inclement 
sky and tried to sleep. 

The battle began at daybreak of December 13. Han- 
cock's force was at the front, and remained there through 
the long and bloody action. His behavior on this oc- 
casion was in keeping with the high reputation he had 
achieved. With his division, he was in the hottest of 
the fight, leading his men as far as it was possible for 
men to go, and falling back with them only when at- 
tempt to go further was foolhardy and useless. Every 
attempt made by the enemy to break through Hancock's 
line was immediately repulsed, and his men halted on 
the march through the upper parts of the city only to 
form a more perfect line, and do the more execution in 
the attack. 

Here, as everywhere else, Hancock seemed to bear 
a charmed life. He passed through the " slaughter- 
pen," as our men used to call the position they occupied 
in this fight, with only a slight flesh-wound across the 
abdomen, coming out otherwise unharmed, though with 
his uniform perforated by the enemy's bullets. 



116 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

An eye-witness describes the advance of Hancock's 
division in this battle : " That which I saw was a mas- 
sive line of blue-jackets standing in the mist of their 
own musketry, surging forward and swaying backward, 
only to push on again, under a fire of artillery and mus- 
ketry such that I was amazed it did not absolutely 
sw^eep them from the face of the earth ; and so utterly 
idle did it seem for our men to be wasted in endeavor- 
ing to breast such a storm, that it would have been a 
relief to see them fall back into the town, and give up 
the unfair and horrible contest. The discharges of 
musketry at intervals were excessively furious, rapid 
beyond computation, and the sound must be remarked 
as far more terrible than that of artillery. While our" 
artillery was silent, and that of the enemy was jarring 
the earth, and filling the valley of the Rappahannock 
with crashing reverberations, our noble infantr}'^ main- 
tained for hours a line of fire across the field, the smoke 
rolling from the play of their muskets in long fleecy 
clouds. Presently some batteries of our field-artillery 
got to work, and for awhile the action did not look so 
one-sided. Flash answered flash, as gun responded to 
gun ; but it was our field-guns to their siege-guns ; and 
their batteries, with the advantages of position and 
number of pieces, as well as weight of metal, after a 
gallant contest silenced our artillery. When the enemy 
charged upon our men, they met their masters, and 
were invariably beaten back, terribly damaged. No 
troops in the world would have won a victory if placed 
in the position ours were. Few armies, however re- 
nowned, would have stood as well as ours did. It can 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 117 

hardly be in hnman nature for men to show more valor 
than was found on our side that day." 

The character of Hancock was at this time shown in 
another phase, in his care for the hospitals and for those 
wounded who could not reach them. The buildings 
selected for the hospital service were watched over with 
the closest care, and as safely guarded as the circum- 
stances permitted. While wounded himself, and re- 
maining in the heat of the battle, he constantly super- 
vised the despatcli of the wounded sufferers across the 
river. He fought his troops well and brought them off 
the bloody field of Fredericksburg in good order. 

It was at the time understood, and has been ever 
since conceded, that the attack on Fredericksburg was 
a great and terrible error. Burnside, in a manly way, 
in his official report to the President, took all the blame 
on himself as the one who planned the assault, and 
under whose orders it was made. But, without enter- 
ing upon the question of the wisdom or error of the 
orders of the commanding general, we can regard with 
pride and admiration the manner in which those orders 
were carried out. To show with what persistent valor 
Hancock labored to carry out the orders entrusted to 
him, it is only necessary to mention the fact, that of the 
five thousand men whom he led in person to the assault 
upon the stone wall and rifle-trenches of Longstreet at 
the foot of Marye's Heights, under that terrible cross- 
fire of shot and shell from the Confederate batteries, 
only three thousand returned with their wounded com- 
mander. 



118 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER Vn. 

ChancellorsTillo. — " Fighting Joe '"' Hooker in command of the Army 
of the Potomac. — The Clover Badge. — Hancock again leads his Di- 
vision across the Eappahannock. — Occupation of Chanccllorsville. 
— Lee attacks the Position. — Hancock's Division saves the Day. — 
" Stonewall " Jackson's Death. — Hancock takes Command of the 
Second Corps. 

The slaughter of Fredericksburg was followed by 
the fiasco of the ''Mud March," and then Burnsidc, 
having offered the President the alternative of accepting 
his own resignation, or at once removing a number of 
his corps commanders, was promptly relieved of his 
command, and Gen. Joseph Hooker — " Fighting Joe " 
— put in his place at the head of the Army of the 
Potomac. Hooker strais^htened out the tano-lo in which 
Burnside had left the army, spent the wet months in 
reorganizing it, and in April had it in good condition 
to move on to another day of glory — and another 
defeat. 

It was Hooker who originated the plan of designat- 
ing the several army corps by distinctive badges. The 
germ of the idea was the happy thought of the gallant 
Phil. Kearney, who, at Fair Oaks, ordered the soldiers 
of his division to sew a piece of red flannel to their 
caps, so that he could recognize them in the tumult of 
battle. Hooker developed this idea into a system which 
proved most useful during the war. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 119 

Hancock wore the trefoil, or clover-leaf, the honored 
badge of the Second Corps. His division was in this 
corps, wliich Couch commanded. 

The two armies had faced each other all Avinter on 
opposite banks of the Rappahannock, until, in April, 
Hooker felt prepared to make an offensive movement. 
This was to turn the flank of the Confederate army, 
and thus compel Lee to abandon his defences along the 
Rappahannock. The movement was very successfully 
executed, so far as turning the flank and getting to 
Chancellorsville, Hancock's division reaching that place 
and bivouacking there on the night of Thursday, April 
30, 1863. 

This was the occasion of Hooker's boastful proclama- 
tion to the troops : "The enemy must either ingloriously 
fly, or come out from behind his defences and give us 
battle on our own ground, where certain destruction 
awaits him." He is also said to have declared in conver- 
sation ; "The rebel army is now the legitimate property 
of the Army of the Potomac. They may as well pack 
up their haversacks and make for Richmond." Had 
success followed his movement, these boasts would have 
passed into history as wisdom ; and at the time they 
v/ere made. Hooker had every reason to consider him- 
self able to make them good. 

But comparative failure robbed them of their charac- 
ter. Lee at length realized what was going on upon his 
left flank, and at once set about remedying the matter. 

Hancock's division had been sent, with that of Gen- 
eral Sjd^es, to advance as the centre column on the road 
from Chancellorsville to Fredericksburg ; being chosen, 



120 LIFE A^^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

as usual, for the post of honor and danger. They drove 
the enemy, and secured a commanding position on 
Friday, May 1. But, by one of those errors wliich 
seem so strange after the occurrence. Hooker ordered 
Sykes and Hancock back, in spite of protest, and made 
ready to accept battle at Chancellors ville. 

How the Confederates, under "Stonewall" Jackson, 
stole around Hooker's army while Lee was engaging his 
attention in front ; and how General Howard, with the 
Eleventh Corps, was beaten back in disorder, has been 
often told. But here it was that Hancock again saved 
what there was to be saved from the disaster. He 
interposed his division like a rock between the advanc- 
ing Confederates and the demoralized Union troops ; 
and, although he was attacked with great impetuosity, 
he held the enemy in check. 

Always generous and prompt to recognize merit, 
Hancock, in his report, gives this tribute to the valor 
of one of his subordinates: — "On the 2d of May, 
the enemy frequently opened with artillery from the 
heights towards Fredericksburg, and from those on my 
right, and with infantry assaulted my advance line of 
rifle-pits, but was always handsomely repulsed by the 
troops on duty there, under Col. N. A. Miles. During 
the sharp contest of that day, the enemy were never 
able to reach my line of battle, so strongly and success- 
fully did Colonel Miles contest the ground." 

In the disposition of his forces, Hancock was, as 
always, personally attentive to the smallest details ; and 
to this, equally with the valor of his subordinates, must 
the success of his command be attributed. He led his 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCIt. 121 

troops in person, placed them in the field under his own 
eye, and remained to take part in the engagement. He 
was right among his men, holding them to work by his 
own presence. 

At Chancellorsville he had his horse shot under him. 
To what dangers he and his men were exposed by the 
position in which they were placed in this battle, and 
how bravely they held their own, is indicated in the 
report of Colonel Morris, of the Sixty-sixth New York 
Regiment, in Hancock's division. "The firing," writes 
Colonel Morris, "was maintained for upwards of four 
hours, during which the enemy made repeated and 
determined assaults upon our lines, and was each time 
gallantly repulsed by our men, with severe loss. All 
his efforts to break our lines having proved futile, the 
enemy opened upon them with a terrific fire of artillery, 
but with no better result ; every volley from the 
enemy's musketry, and every discharge from his can- 
non seemino; to aive renewed enerfjy to our brave men, 
and to increase their determination to maintain their 
position at all hazards, and against any assault the ene- 
my might be capable of making against them. There 
was no wasting of ammunition here ; every man fired 
with the utmost coolness and deliberation, taking steady 
aim at his object as if firing for a prize ; not a man 
flinched under the terrible fii'e to which he was sub- 
jected." 

It was after maldng his attack upon the position held 
by Hancock, that the famous "Stonewall" Jackson 
received the wound that caused his death. Speaking 
of this while he lay dying, Jackson said : "K I had 



122 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

not been wounded, I would have cut the enemy off 
from the road to the United States Ford ; we would 
have had them entirely surrounded, and they would 
have been obliged to surrender or cut their way out." 

But Lee ventured upon no strokes of audacity after 
Jackson had passed away ; and it is not improbable 
that the loss of this one life permitted the Chancellors- 
ville expedition to become only a failure, not an over- 
whelming defeat. 

A month after this battle. General Hancock was put 
in command of the Second Corps, in which then for 
nine months he had commanded a division. His eleva- 
tion to this important command gave unusual satisfac- 
tion to officers and men, who had come to know, to 
admire, and to trust him ; and the army and the 
country recognized his advancement as a fairly-earned 
tribute to his soldierly qualities. His assignment to 
the command was at first temporary, occasioned by the 
retirement of General Couch, on the 10th of June. 
But events were culminating in the war for the Union, 
and need was of the stronijest men in the hiffhest 
places; and President Lincoln, June 25, confirmed 
General Hancock in the permanent command of the 
corps with which his name is so gloriously associated. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 123 



CHAPTER Vm. 

The March to Gettysburg. — Lee Resolves upon an Invasion of the 
North. — He Ravages Pennsylvania while Halleck and Stanton hold 
Hooker back. — Hooker's Resignation. — The Camp on the Rappa- 
hannock broken up. — The March toward Washington. — Han- 
cock's Corps the Rear Guard. — Perfect Discipline of his Men. 

The Army of the Potomac had now twice crossed the 
Eappahannock, and twice had it been driven back, if 
not with disaster, at least without success. Fredericks- 
burg and Chancellorsville had raised the confidence of 
Lee's army to the highest pitch, and had given its com- 
mander a consciousness of power which inspired him to 
undertake a war of invasion on his own account. The 
authorities at Richmond, who had always seemed to 
act more harmoniously than those at Washington, 
determined upon an offensive policy, and with Lee 
planned a movement that should cause the Army of 
the Potomac to loose its hold upon the Rappahannock, 
and should transfer the theatre of war to the loyal 
States. 

The Confederates, moreover, having a depleted com- 
missariat to draw upon, cast longing eyes toward the 
fertile fields and rich cities that lay clustering in the 
valleys and upon the river-banks in the great State of 
Pennsylvania ; and, added to the hope of recruiting 
their exhausted supplies, was the expectation of obtain- 
ing a foothold upon the line of communications between 



124 LIFE AJ^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Washington and the North, and if successful in defeating 
the Union army upon Northern territory, levy tribute 
upon these wealthy and populous districts, and possi- 
bly dictate terms of peace that Avould redound to the 
advantage of the Confederacy. 

There is no doubt as to the destitution of Lee's army 
at this time, or as to the influence it had upon the 
invasion. Shortly before the movement, according to 
General Longstreet, Lee sent to Richmond a requisi- 
tion for a certain amount of rations. The paper came 
back with the Commissary-Generars endorsement : " If 
General Lee wishes rations, let him seek them in Penn- 
sylvania." At this time, also. Hooker's army had been 
weakened, by the mustering out of the short-term 
volunteers, until it numbered about eighty thousand 
eflfective troops, while Lee had been strengthened by a 
large force of conscripts. 

General Hooker had, from the first, divined the pur- 
pose of Lee, and had kept both the President and Sec- 
retary Stanton informed on the subject. On the 28th 
of May he had written : " You may rest assured that 
important movements are being made. I am in doubt 
as to the direction Lee will take, but probably the one 
of last year, however desperate it may appear."' But, 
being restrained by the orders of Plalleck and Stanton 
from makiiig an oflensive resistance to the operations 
of Lee, Hooker Avas compelled to move into a position 
to protect the approaches to Washington and there 
await the development of the Confederate plans. Thus 
the course of Ewell across the border was free ; the 
whole region of Western Pennsylvania was open to 



WINFIELD SCOTT HA^STCOCK. 125 

him, and he thoroughly scoured it, levying upon the 
population for the subsistence of his troops, while he 
gathered vast herds of horses and cattle and sent them 
southward across the Potomac. Thousands of Penn- 
sylvania farmers fled in panic, with their cattle and 
household goods, across the Susquehanna. 

Thus the invasion of Northern territory by the Con- 
federate troops became a fixed fact. Halleck and 
Stanton sat shivering at Washington, vetoing every 
plan of Hooker's looking toward a more vigorous 
policy, until, on the 27th of June, Hooker, in despair, 
asked to be relieved from the command of an army 
which he was not allowed to use. 

Hooker recommended that General Meade be ap- 
pointed to fill the place vacated by his resignation, and, 
true to his duty, conferred Avith his successor, and had 
long and earnest discussions with him, imparting to 
him all his plans, and ofiering any advice that might be 
required. The purpose of General Meade was to keep 
the Army of the Potomac well in hand, so that rapid 
concentration might be effected, and, if a general en- 
gagement was to be fought, it should be upon ground 
of his own selection ; at the same time to watch Lee's 
movements, and, when a favorable opportunity offered, 
strike upon his communications, and by preventing a 
retreat cut him in pieces. 

To fail to stop Lee in his invasion of Pennsylvania, 
meant disaster to the cause of the Union. The fate of 
the Republic, at that time, hung trembling in the 
balance. Had the Union arms suffered defeat, the loss 
of Washington and the prestige of the possession of the 



126 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Capital, would not have been the only loss. There 
would have been practically nothing to prevent the cap- 
ture of Baltimore, Philadelphia, possibly New York. 
There would have been recoijnition of the Southern 
Confederacy by European Powers ; the destruction of 
the Union, or, at the best, its preservation only after 
years of bloody war. All these probabilities hung on 
the success or defeat of Lee, who was now forging 
ahead on Northern soil, toward the North Star and ex- 
pected victory. Not to intercept him ; not to strike 
him at a place where the Union troops would have the 
advantage or an equality of position ; or, having struck 
Lee, to fail to overwhelm him — and all those results 
were possible — and the cause of the Union was lost. 

Probably every private soldier in the Army of the 
Potomac knew that a tremendous conflict was not many 
hours distant, and had some clear idea of what failure 
meant. But there were some on whom rested supreme 
responsibility. With them there must be neither 
mediocrity as to abilit}^, judgment, or execution. 
With them there must be no mistake, or all would be 
lost. Chief among the men on whom was laid this 
momentous duty was Hancock. How he performed 
it the country knows. 

It was on the 13th of June that Hooker, who at that 
time still retained his command of the Army of Poto- 
mac, broke liis camp on the Rappahannock, and moved 
after Lee in the direction of Washington. General 
Mulholland, then holding a command in Hancock's 
corps, thus describes the breaking up and the start on 
the long march : — 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOOK. 127 

" When on that lovely summer evening in June, 1863, we 
looked for the last time on Marye's Heights and the monu- 
ment of Washington's mother, which had been shattered and 
broken by the shells of both armies, and stood out there on 
the plain back of the city, as though protesting against this 
fratricidal strife, a mute and sorrowful Niobe weeping for the 
misfortunes of her children, every heart beat with a quick- 
ened throb, and all the men rejoiced to leave the scenes of 
the last six months. We withdi-ew from the line of the river 
after the shades of night had fallen over the landscape ; and 
it seemed to be an appropriate hour, for had not the great 
ann}^ while here, been in shadow, without a ray of sunshine 
to gladden our souls ? and we had been here so long, we were 
beginning to be forgotten as the Army of the Potomac, and 
letters came to us marked, ' Army of the Rappahannock.' 
As we marched away in the darkness, our joy was not un- 
mingled with sorrow ; for was there a veteran in the ranks 
who did not leave behind the graves of noble and well- 
beloved comrades, who had fought beside him from the be- 
ginning of the great struggle? We did not march away 
with all the arm}'. When our camp fires — which on this 
night burned with unusual brightness — went out and left the 
valley of the Rappahannock in darkness, the living army was 
gone, to be sure ; but twenty-five thousand of our members 
lay over on the other side of the river — the heroes of Fred- 
ericksbm'g and Chanccllorsville : — an army of occupation, 
indeed ; the corps of honor, forming a great and permanent 
camp — the bivouac of the dead." 

General Hancock's coi'ps held the position of rear 
guard, and its route to Gettysburg was over two hun- 
dred miles in length. Some days they marched fifteen, 
on others eighteen miles ; and on June 29 this corps 
completed the longest march made by any infantry 



128 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

during the war, leaving Frederick City, Md., in tho 
morning and halting at 11 o'clock at ni£:ht two miles 
beyond Uniontown, a distance of thirty-four miles. 
This march was one of the severest as well as the 
longest of the war. " On one day," writes General 
Mulholland, " I think the second out from Falmouth, 
our corps lost more than a dozen men from sunstroke ; 
they fell dead by the wayside. On another day we 
crossed the battle-field of Bull Run, where the year 
before Pope had met with disastrous defeat. No efibrt 
had been made to bury the dead properly ; a little 
earth, which the rain had long ago washed away, had 
been thrown over them where they fell, and their 
bodies, or rather their skeletons, now lay exposed to 
view. In some parts of the field they were in groups, 
in other places singly, and in all possible positions. 
One cavalryman lay outstretched, Avith skeleton hand 
still grasping his trusted sword. Another, half-cov- 
ered with earth, the flesh still clinofino: to his lifeless 
bones, and hand extended as if to greet us. We rested 
for a short time on the field, and one of the regiments 
of our brigade (the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts) 
halted on the very spot on which they had fought the 
year previously, and recognized the various articles 
lying around as belonging to their own dead." 

Under the thorough discipline of General Hancock, 
the Second Corps made this march bravely, in the 
heat of the broiling sun of the hottest month of oui 
year; each man with his load of fifty-seven pounds 
— musket, ammunition, knapsack, shelter-tent and 
blanket — and each anxious to keep up with his regi- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 129 

ment lest he should lose the fight. And, such was the 
respect for the rights of civilians and of property, 
inspired in these ro.en by their gallant commander, that 
not an act of wantonness was committed on that weary 
advance. There is not an inhabitant on all that line of 
march, who can tell of a single act of vandalism by any 
of the men, such as we are wont to hear of other 
irmies. In the rich and cultivated country through 
which they passed, life and property were respected as 
much as though it were in the halcyon days of peace. 
Old and young came to the roadside to see the army 
pass, and knew they were safe from insult or molesta- 
tion. The fields of ripening grain waved untrampled 
when the corps had gone by, the men even going out 
of their way to avoid the gardens lest they should step 
upon the flowers. 

In this way Hancock brought up the rear of the 
Army of the Potomac, as it moved from the Rappa- 
hannock toward the then uncelebrated field of Gettys- 
burg, 



130 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER IX. 

Gettysburg. — The First Day. — Meade arrives at Taneytown. — The 
Advance Guard strikes the Enemy. — " For God's Sake send up 
Hancock." — Meade puts Hancock in command at the Front. — He 
arrives at the Critical Moment and Saves the Army. — He Selects 
the Battle-ground and Disposes the Troops. — Meade Concentrates 
his Army for the Fight of the Second Day. 

Hancock was now marching, all unconscious of the 
fact, toward the field on which he, by the exercise of 
his soldierly qualities and skill, was to turn the fortunes 
of the great battle of the Rebellion in fiivor of the 
Union arms. For, with no derogation of the merits of 
the other brave men and skilful commanders who fought 
through those terrible three days at Gettysburg, it is 
only just to Hancock to let the record show the fact 
that it was his magnetic presence which rallied the 
beaten and flying commands of Howard and Sickles, 
his skill which so disposed those forces as to hold the 
position against the Confederate army, and his clear 
foresight and quick decision, which marked out the 
battle-ground on w^hich Meade's factory was to be won. 

The battle of Gettysburg was not definitely foreseen 
or pre-arranged on either side. Lee was striking for 
Harrisburg ; Meade was hastening to intercept him, 
and had planned to give him battle on Pipe Creek. As 
Lee writes in his official report of the Gettysburg cam- 
paign : "Preparations were now made to advance upon 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 131 

Harrisburg ; but on the night of the 28th of June, 
information was received from a scout that the Federal 
army, having crossed the Potomac, was advancing 
northward, and that the head of the column had reached 
South Mountain. As our communications with the 
Potomac were thus menaced, it was resolved to prevent 
his further progress in that direction by concentrating 
our army on the east side of the mountains." 

While Lee was making this movement, the left wing 
of Meade's army, under General Reynolds, which was 
thrown forward in advance to serve as a mask while 
position was taken on Pipe Creek, came in contact with 
the van of the rebel General Hill's command on the 
morning of July 1, just outside the town of Gettys- 
burg. 

This accident determined the battle-field, and the 
result of the contest of that first day was to determine 
which side should have the choice in the disposition of 
troops, and consequently the advantage in the great 
struofo-le between the grand armies. 

It was Hancock who was chosen to decide this in 
favor of the Union. 

Meade's headquarters, with the main body of his 
troops, was at Taneytown, fourteen miles from Gettys- 
burg. There the rear guard, Hancock's corps, arrived, 
and was massed on the morning of July 1, 1863. The 
great battle had already begun at Gettysburg, and while 
Meade was consulting with Hancock, and explaining to 
him his plans for the expected battle, the force of the 
Confederate army was concentrating upon the devoted 
corps in advance. The gallant Reynolds had already 



132 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

fallen, and Buford, after making a wonderful resistance 
with his small force of cavalry against enormous hordes 
of infantry, had hastily scratched a despatch to Meade 
in the note-book of his signal officer : " For God's sake 
send up Hancock. Everything is going at odds, and 
we need a controlling spirit." 

Hancock was the " controlling spirit " and wise adviser 
to whom all turned when in danger. Meade at once 
sent him with orders to assume command of all the 
troops at Gettysburg, and to report upon its advantages 
as a field of battle. In his testimony before the com- 
mittee on the conduct of the war. General Meade 
says : — 

" About one or two o'clock in the day (July 1) I received 
information that the advance of my army, under Major-Gen- 
eral Reynolds of the First Corps, on their reaching Gettys- 
burg, bad encountered the enemy in force, and that the First 
and Eleventh Corps were at that time engaged in a contest 
with such portions of the enemy as were there. 

" The moment I received this information, I directed Major- 
General Hancock, who was with me at the time, to proceed 
without delay to the scene of the contest, and make an exam- 
ination of the ground in the neighborhood of Gettysbm-g, 
and to report to me the facihtics and advantages or disad- 
vantages of that ground for receiving battle. I furthermore 
instructed him tliat in case, upon his arrival at Getty sbui'g, 
he shoukl find the position unsuitable, and the advantages on 
the side of the enem}' , he should examine the ground criti- 
cally as he went out there, and report to me the nearest posi- 
tion in the immediate neighborhood of Gettysburg, where a 
concentration of the army would be more advantageous than 
at Gettysburg." 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 133 

Hardly had the news of the unexpected engagement 
reached General Meade's headquarters, when another 
cloud of dust was seen approaching on the road from 
Gettysburg. Out of it galloped another stall' officer, 
bringing the sad story of the death of Reynolds and 
carrying the urgent appeal from Buford to send on 
Hancock. General Meade says : — 

" At one o'clock I received the sad intelligence of the fall 
of General Reynolds, and the actual engagement of my 
troops at Gettysburg. Previous to receiving this intelligence 
I had had a long consultation with General Hancock, and 
explained to him fully my views as to m}'' determination to 
fight in front, if practicable ; if not, then to the rear or to 
the right or left, as circumstances might require. Anxious 
to have some one at the front who could carry out my views, 
I directed General Hancock to proceed to Gettysburg and 
take command of the troops there, and particularly to advise 
me of the condition of affau'S there, and the practicability of 
fighting a battle there." 

It is a curious coincidence that, almost one hundred 
years before this eventful day, the grandfather of Gen- 
eral Hancock, an officer in Washington's army, was 
detailed to command the escort which left this same 
little village of Taneytown, in charge of a company of 
prisoners taken from Burgoyne, to take them to Valley 
Forge. 

As there has been some controversy as to the fact of 
who was in command at Gettysburg, and who saved 
the army — and thereby doubtless saved the country — 
by rallying the demoralized and flying columns and 
securing the position for the battle of the following 



134 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

day, the order of General Meade, under which Han-^ 
cock assumed command, is here given : — 

Headquarters Army of Potomac, > 
July 1, 1863 — 1.10 p. M. i 

Commanding Officer, Second Corps : 

The Major-General commanding has just been informed 
that General Reynolds has been killed or badly wounded. 
He directs you to turn over the command of yom' corps to 
General Gibbou ; that you proceed to the front, and, by 
virtue of this order, in case of the truth of General Rey- 
nolds's death, you assume command of the corps there 
assembled ; viz., the Eleventh, First, and Third at Emmetts- 
burg. If you think the ground and position there a better 
one to fight a battle under existing circumstances, you wdl 
so advise the General, and he will order aU troops up. You 
know the General's views, and General Warren, who is fully 
aware of them, has gone out to see General Reynolds. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

D. Butterfield, 
Major-General and Chief of Staff. 

To understand the importance of the trust thus 
placed in Hancock's hands, it must be understood that 
General Meade had already chosen a place for the 
expected battle, and that he left it absolutely to Han- 
cock's judgment whether his plans should be entirely 
changed. Also, General Meade, at this supreme 
moment, did not hesitate to place Hancock in com- 
mand over Howard, his senior. It was no time for 
etiquette. The fate of the army was at stake, and 
Hancock was everywhere recognized as the one who 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 135 

could save it. On the point of superseding his two 
seniors, Howard and Sickles, General Hancock says : 
"I did not feel much embarrassment about it, because 
I was an older soldier than either of them. But I 
knew, legally, it was not proper, and if they chose to 
resist it, it might be a troublesome matter to me for 
the time being." 

The moment General Hancock received the above 
order, he turned over the command of his corps to 
General Gibbon and started with his staff for the bat- 
tle-fie|^. 

As General Hancock proceeded to the front he rode 
part of the way in an aml)ulance, so that he might 
examine the maps of the country, his aid, Maj. W. 
G. Mitchell, galloping ahead to announce his coming 
to How^ard, whom he found on Cemetery Hill, and to 
whom he told his errand, giving him to understand 
that General Hancock was coming up to take com- 
mand. 

At half-past three o'clock General Hancock rode up 
to General Howard, informed him that he had come to 
take command and asked him if he wished to see his 
written orders. Howard answered : " No ! no ! Han- 
cock, go ahead ! " 

At this moment our defeat seemed to be complete. 
Our troops were flowing through the streets of the 
town in great disorder, closely pursued by the Con- 
federates, thfe retreat fast becoming a rout, and in a 
very few minutes the enemy would be in possession of 
Cemetery Hill, the key to the position ; and the battle 
of Gettysburg would have gone into history as a rebel 



136 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

victory. But what a change came over the scene in 
the next half-hour. The presence of Hancock, like 
that of Sheridan, was magnetic. 

Schwerin and Saxe were said to be worth each a 
reinforcement of ten thousand men to an army ; and 
the Duke of Wellington said the arrival of Napoleon 
on a battle-field was a better reinforcement to the 
French army than the accession of forty thousand 
fresh troops. What, then, shall we say of the value 
of General Hancock's arrival at the critical moment on 
the liattle-field of Gettysburg, a battle that by common 
consent is now admitted to have decided the fate of the 
Union and fixed the final result of the war? 

Order came out of chaos. The flying troops halted 
and again faced the enemy. The battalions of Howard's 
corps, that were retreating down the Baltimore pike, 
were called back and with a cheer went into position 
on the crest of Cemetery Hill, where the division of 
Stein wehr had already been stationed. Wads worth s 
division and a battery were sent to hold Gulp's Hill, 
and Geary, with the White Star division, went on the 
double-quick to occupy the liigh ground toward Round 
Top. Confidence was restored, the enemy checked 
and, being deceived by these dispositions, ceased their 
attack. Hancock had saved the day. 

Swinton, describing the advent of Hancock and the 
turn of the tide of battle under the influence of his 
presence, says: — "At the time the confused throng 
was pouring through Gettysburg, General Hancock ar- 
rived on the ground. In such an emergency it is the 
personal qualities of the commander alone that tell. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 137 

If, happily, there is in him that mysterious but potent 
magnetism that calms, subdues, and inspires, there re- 
sults one of those sudden moral transformations that 
are among the marvels of the phenomena of battle. This 
quality Hancock possesses in a high degree, and his ap- 
pearance soon restored order out of seemingly hopeless 
confusion — a confusion which Howard, an efficient 
officer but of a rather negative nature, had not been 
able to quell. Nor, fortunately; could there be any 
question as to the right position to be taken up, for 
nature had already traced it out in a bold relief of 
rock. On the ridge of Gettysburg — the ridge Rey- 
nolds had mentally marked as he impetuously hurried 
forward to bullet the advancing enemy, and which, by 
the rich sacrifice of his life, he purchased for the pos- 
session of the army, and for the possession of history 
forever — Hancock disposed the remnants of the two 
corps." 

General Hancock was fully aware that General 
Meade had determined to fight the battle on the line of 
Pipe Creek ; but noting the topographical advantages 
of the ground around Gettysburg, he determined to 
advise General Meade to fight there. He knew that 
this line, the crest of Cemetery Ridge, with Gulp's Hill 
on the right. Round Top on the left, and Cemetery Hill 
in the centre, could not be bettered. So, when order had 
taken the place of confusion and our lines were once more 
intact, he sent his senior aid, Major Mitchell, back to 
tell General Meade that he could hold the position un- 
til nightfall, and that in his judgment Gettysburg was 
the place to fight the battle. ISIajbr Mitchell found 



138 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

General Meade in the evening, near Taneytown, and 
communicated these views. General Meade listened 
attentively, and on these representations he fortunately 
concluded to abandon his idea of fighting on the line 
of Pipe Creek, and deliver the battle at Gettysburg ; 
and turning to Gen. Seth Williams, his Adjutant- 
General, he said : " Order up all the troops ; we will 
fight there." 

The Second Corps promptly followed General Han- 
cock, and required no urging to keep the men up. 
The regiments moved forward solidly and rapidly, and 
not a straggler was to be seen ; but as they hurried 
along a halt was ordered, the ranks opened, and an 
ambulance passed containing the body of the heroic 
Gen. John F. Rej^nolds. Then the corps pushed 
on to within a few miles of the battle-ground, where it 
camped that night and arrived on the field early the 
next morning. 

So it was that, on the first of the three memorable 
days of Gettysburg, Hancock was the means of chang- 
ing defeat and disaster into success ; and so it was that 
he designated the field on which the gi*eatest and most 
momentous battle of the Union was to be fought. 



WrNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, 139 



CHAPTEE X. 

GettysTjurg. — The Second Day. — Haucock in command at the Left 
Centre. — Sickles's Corps cut up. — Haucock to the Rescue. — The 
Absolution of the Irish Brigade. — Fight for the Ridgo in front 
of the Wheat-fiekl. — Haucock protects the Situation. — He holds 
the Line between Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top. 

After posting the troops, General Hancock turned 
over the command to General Slocum, his ranking offi- 
cer, who arrived in the evening. 

The morning of July 2d and the second day of the 
battle dawned clear and bright, and found Hancock 
posting the Second Corps on Cemetery Kidge. As yet 
no one in that corps, with the exception of the General 
and his staff, had heard a shot fired. As the troops 
approached Gettysburg the day before, the sounds of 
the fight, owing to the direction of the wind or the 
formation of the country, were wholly inaudible. 
Those who came upon the field after nightfall had no 
idea of the whereabouts of the enemy ; but as the day- 
light increased and objects became visible, their lines 
were seen nearly a mile distant on Seminary Ridge, and 
away to the left rose Little Round Top, and still 
farther on Round Top. 

On that morning the entire Union army, except the 
corps of Sedgwick, had reached Gettysburg, and the 
whole Southern force, except Pickett's division and 
Longstreet's corps, had come up. The line of battle 



140 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

formed by the army was in the shape of a Limerick 
fish-hook ; the head being Little Round Top, the 
point at Spangler's Spring, and the centre of the curve 
where the Second Corps lay, and where now repose the 
country's dead. This position of the Second Corps was 
the key to the whole line ; for, once broken, both 
wings of the army would be separated, if not de- 
stroyed. General Longstreet says, in his version of the 
battle of Gettysburg, that " the enemy did not see the 
value of Cemetery Ridge until the arrival of Hancock." 

The command of General Hancock on this day was 
the left centre, his Second Corps being posted in the 
rear as reserves. The battle did not really open until 
afternoon ; and when it opened, Hancock, who had 
devoted careful attention to the disposition of his 
troops, seemed to be everywhere with them in the 
actual contest. 

About 4 o'clock, there was that sharp and persistent 
fighting on the left, into which Sickles's corps marched 
so bravely and in which it suifered so terribly. Han- 
cock was called on for aid, and he at once sent out one 
of his divisions, — General Caldwell's. 

The Irish brigade, Col. Patrick Kelly, which had 
been commanded formerly by Gen. Thomas Francis 
Meagher, and whose green flag had been unfurled in 
every battle in which the Army of the Potomac had 
been engaged, from the first Bull Run to Appomattox, 
formed a part of this division. As the large majority 
of its members were Catholics, the chaplain of the 
brigade. Rev. William Corly, proposed to give a 
general absolution to all the men before going into 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 141 

the fight. While this is customary in the armies 
of Catholic countries of Europe, it was perhaps the 
first time it was ever witnessed on this continent ; 
unless, indeed, the grim old warrior, Ponce de Leon, 
as he tramped through the everglades of Florida in 
search of the Fountain of Youth, or De Soto on his 
march to the Mississippi, indulged in this act of devo- 
tion. 

Father Corly stood upon a large rock in front of the 
brigade. Addressing the men, he explained what he 
was about to do, saying that each one could receive the 
benefit of the absolution by making a sincere act of 
contrition, and firmly resolving to embrace the first 
opportunity of confessing his sins ; urging them to do 
their duty well, and reminding them of the high and 
sacred nature of their trust as soldiers, and the noble 
object for which they fought ; ending by saying that 
the Catholic Church refuses Christian burial to the 
soldier who turns his back upon the foe or deserts his 
flag. 

The brigade was standing at " Order arms." As he 
closed his address every man fell on his knees with 
head bowed down. Then stretching "his i;ight hand 
toward the brigade, Father Corly pronounced the 
words of the absolution : — " Dominus noster Jesus 
Christus vos absoluat, et ego, auctoritaie ipsiiis, vos 
ahsolvo ab oiiiixi vinculo exconwiunicatioms et inter dicti 
in quantum possum et vos indigetis, deinde ego absolvo 
vos a peccatis vestris in nomine JPatris, et .Filii et 
Spiritus Sancti. Amen." 

General Mulholland, speaking of this occurrence, 



142 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

says : — " The scene was more tliau impressive ; it was 
awe-inspiring. Near by stood Hancock, surrounded 
by a brillant throng of officers Avho had gathered to 
witness this very unusual occurrence ; and while there 
was profound silence in the ranks of the Second Corps, 
yet over to the left, out by the peach orchard and Little 
liound Top, where Weed and Vincent and Haslett 
were dying, the roar of the battle rose and swelled and 
re-echoed throuo;h the woods, makino: music more sub- 
lime than ever sounded through cathedral aisle. The 
act seemed to be in harmony with all the surround- 
inofs. I do not think there was a man in the brio-ade 
who did not offer up a heartfelt prayer. For some it 
was their last ; they knelt there in their grave-clothes — 
in less than half an hour many of them were numbered 
with the dead of July 2. AVho can doubt that their 
prayers were good? AVhat was wanting in the elo- 
quence of the priest to move them to repentance was 
supplied in the incidents of the light. That heart 
would be incorrigible, indeed, that the scream of a 
Whitworth bolt, added to Father Corly's touching 
appeal, would not move to contrition." 

The contest at this point was for the ridge in front 
of the wheat-field, a location known to every one of the 
many thousands in that fight as one of the bloodiest of 
the second day's contest. As Caldwell's division, in 
response to Hancock's orders, advanced to the relief of 
Sickles, approaching the crest of the rugged hill, from 
behind the huge bowlders that were everywhere scat- 
tered around, the men of Longstreet's corps rose up 
and poured into the Union ranks a most destructive 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 143 

fire. The lines were not more than thirty feet apart 
when the firing opened. Our men promptly returned 
the fire, and for ten or fifteen minutes the work of 
death went on. There was no cheering, no time lost 
in unnecessary movements. Every man tliere, both 
Union and rebel, was a veteran, and knew just A\hat 
was wanted. They stood there face to face, loading 
and firing, and so close that every shot told. In a 
short time the brigades of Cross and Zook began 
forcing the enemy back, and after firing about ten 
minutes Colonel Kelly gave the order to charge. The 
men, rushing forward with a cheer, were among the 
Johnnies in a few moments. 

Here took place a rather extraordinary scene. In 
an instant our men and their opponents were mingled 
together. In charging they had literally run right in 
among them. Firing instantly ceased, and they found 
there were as many of the enemy as there were of 
themselves. Officers and men looked for a time utterly 
bewildered ; all the fighting had stopped, yet the Gray- 
backs still retained their arms, and showed no disposi- 
tion to surrender. At this moment a Union officer 
called out in a loud voice : " The Confederate troops 
will lay down their arms and go to the rear ! " This 
ended a scene that was becoming embarrassing. The 
Confederates promptly obeyed, and a large number of 
Kershaw's brigade became our prisoners. 

Of this division, the brigades of Kelly and Zook 
were most unfortunate. By ill-fortune they found 
themselves surrounded, with one rebel line of battle in 
fi'ont and another behind, and the only way out of the 



144 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

trap was to pass down between the two rebel lines. 
So the two brigades started on a double-quick, firing 
as they ran, toward the Little Eound Top, the only 
opening through which they could escape. 

Passing through this alley of death, where the bul- 
lets came thick as hail, they got away with a large pait 
of the division ; but the loss was terrible. In the half- 
hour that they were under fire, fourteen hundred men 
were lost. Of the four brigade commanders, Cross 
fell almost at the first fire and Zook a few minutes 
afterward. On the morning of that day General Han- 
cock said to Colonel Cross ; " This is the last time you 
will fight as a Colonel ; to-day will make you a Briga- 
dier-General." Cross answered, firmly and sadly, as 
thouo-h he felt sure of what he said : " No ; it is too 
late, General ; I will never wear the star. To-day I 
shall be killed." 

The combat at this point, during the evening of July 
2, was of a most sanguinary character, each side fight- 
ino; with a dreadful earnestness. Four or five of our 
best divisions had charged over the same spot, and were 
met every time by the choice troops of the enemy — 
both determined to hold the ridge in front of the wheat- 
field. Until toward dark the fight had certainly gone 
against us, and the battle had extended along the line, 
to the right, almost half-way to the cemetery. The 
evening and our prospects grew dark together. The 
Third Corps had been driven back, broken and shat- 
tered, its commander wounded and carried from the 
field. The troops that had gone to its support fared no 
better, and every man felt that the situation was grave. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 145 

However, uU was not yet lost. Meade had again 
thought of Hancock, and as the day before he sent him to 
stop the rout of the First and Eleventh Corps, so again 
he ordered him to assume command on the left. Once 
more he was in the fight. A half-hour of daylight yet 
remained, but it was long enough to enable him to 
rally some of our scattered troops, face them once more 
to the front, gather reinforcements, drive back the 
enemy, and restore our broken lines. 

Few of our troops slept during this night. The 
Second Corps went back and was put in position on 
Cemetery Ridge by General Hancock, who all the night 
Ions; labored to strengthen this line. The men o-athered 
rocks and fence-rails, and used them to erect a light 
breastwork. 

This closed the second day of the great battle ; and 
Hancock, who had saved the army by his presence on 
the 1st of July, had saved the critical position on the 
2d. On the fall of Sickles, he had assumed command 
of the Third Corps as well as the Second, placing 
the latter under the immediate orders of General Gib- 
bon, and established his headquarters well up to the 
front, midway between Cemetery Ridge and Little 
Round Top. 



146 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XI. 

Gettysburg.— The Third Day.— The Storm of Fire.— Hancock's 
\Yo:idfrful Deed of Viilor. — Hia Ride from Left to Right of the Lino 
and back again. — The Final Desperate Assault of (he Con federates. 
— Hancock Beats Them Back. — Struck Down in the Moment of 
Victory. — But Ho Saved the Day. — Thanks of Congress. 

At the first gray dawn of the morning of July 3, the 
fight Avas resumed on Gulp's Hill, where the Confeder- 
ates had effected a lodirmcnt the niirht before ; and as 
the day advanced, the artillery joined in, and the battle 
at that point became earnest. It was not until nine 
o'clock that the cessation of the firing and the cheers 
of General Geary's men gave notice all down the line 
that the enemy had been driven out, and that we were 
again in possession of that point. 

Then came a perfect calm. All along Hancock's line, 
from Cemetery Hill to Round Top, not a shot had been 
fired that morning. The fate of battle had reserved 
Hancock to bear the terrible brunt of the final desperate 
assault on which was to depend the result of the battle, 
and to gloriously repulse it. 

But the (juiet was soon to be broken. About noon 
there could be seen from Hancock's line considerable 
activity among the Confederates along Seminary Ridge. 
Battery after battery appeared along the edge of the 
woods. Guns were unlimbered, placed in position and 
the horses taken to the rear. On our side officers sat 



WLNl'lELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 147 

around in groups, and, through field-glasses, anxiously 
watched these movements in their front, and wondered 
what it all meant. Shortly after one o'clock, however, 
they knew all about it. The headquarters wagons had 
just come up, and General Gibbon had invited Han- 
cock and staff" to partake of some lunch. The bread 
that was handed around — if it ever was eaten — was 
consumed without butter ; for as the orderly was passing 
the latter article to the gentlemen, a shell from Semi- 
nary Ridge cut him in two. 

Instantly the air was filled with bursting shells ; the 
batteries that had been for the last two hours getting 
into position did not open singly or spasmodically. 
The whole hundred and twenty guns, wliich now began 
to play upon our lines, seemed to be discharged simul- 
taneously, as though by electricity. And then for 
nearly two hours the storm of death went on. 

One who was present under this fire fhus describes 
it : "No tongue or pen can find language strong enough 
to convey any idea of its awfulness. The air was full 
of missiles ; streams of shot and shell screamed and 
hissed everywhere ; it seemed as though nothing could 
live under that terrible fire. Men and horses were torn 
limlj from limb ; caissons exploded one after another 
in rapid succession, blowing the gunners to pieces. 
The infantry hugged the ground closely, and sought 
every slight shelter that the light earthworks afforded. 
It was literally a storm of shot and shell, like the fall 
of raindrops or the beat of hailstones. Those who had 
taken part in every battle of the war never had seen 
anything like that cannonade, and the oldest soldiers 



148 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

bcjran to be uneasv about the result. Hundreds and 
thousands were stricken down ; the shrieks of animals 
and screams of wounded men were appalling ; still the 
awful rushing sound of flying missiles went on, and 
apparently never would cease." 

It was then, when the firmest hearts had begun to 
quail, the army witnessed one of the grandest sights 
ever beheld by any army on earth, —a deed of heroism 
such as we are apt to attribute only to the knights of 
the olden time. Suddenly the band began to play "The 
Star-Spangled Banner," and Hancock, mounted, and 
accompanied by his staff, Maj. W. G. Mitchell, Capt. 
Harry Bingham, Capt. Isaac Parker, and Capt. E. P. 
Bronson, with the corps flag flying in the hands of a 
brave Irishman, Private James AVells, of the Sixth New 
York Cavalry, started at the right of his line, where it 
joins the Taney town road, and slowly rode along the 
terrible crest in front of the line, to the extreme left of 
his position, while shot and shell roared and crashed 
around him, and every moment tore great gaps in the 
ranks at his side. 

The soldiers held their breath, exjDccting every 
moment to see him fall from his horse pierced by a 
dozen bullets. It was a gallant deed, and, withal, not a 
reckless exposure of life ; for the presence and calm 
demeanor of the commander, as he passed through the 
lines of his men, set them an example which an hour 
later bore good fruit, and nerved their stout hearts to 
win the greatest and most decisive battle ever fought 
on this continent. Every soldier felt his heart thrill as 
he witnessed the magnificent courage of his General, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 149 

and he resolved to do something that day which "would 
equal it in daring. 

There could be no fitter subject for the heroic ballad 
than this incident, which has thus been told : — 

"A hundred guns — yes, fifty more — 

Rained down their shot and shell 
As if, from out its yawning door, 

Drove the red blast of hell. 
The hiss ! the crash ! the shriek ! the groan ! 

The ceaseless iron hail ! 
All this for half the day. I own 

It made the stoutest quail. 

*' But sudden, far to left, we heard 

The band strike up : and lo ! 
Full in our front — no breath was stirred — 

Came Hancock, riding slow. 
As slow as if on dress-parade. 

All down the line to right 
And back again. By my good blade, 

Was ever such a sight ? 

" We lay at length. No ranks could stand 

Against that tempest wild ; 
Yet on he rode, with hat in hand, 

And looked, and bowed, and smiled. 
Whatever fears we had before 

Were gone. That sight, you know. 
Just made us fifty thousand more. 

All hot to face the foe. 

" You've heard the rest How on they came ; 

Earth shaking at their tread ; 
A cheer ; our ranks burst into flame ; 

Steel crossed ; the foe had fled. 
Yet still that dauntless form I see, 

Slow riding down the line. 
Was ever deed of chivalry 

So grand, oh, comrade mine?" 



150 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Just as Hancock reached the left of his line, the 
rebel batteries ceased to play, and their infantry, 
eighteen thousand strong, were seen emerging from the 
woods and advancing up the hill. Hancock knew the 
artillery fire had been intended to demoralize his men, 
and cover the advance of their infantry, which was to 
make the real attack. Turning his horse, he rode 
slowly up his line from left to right, holding his hat in 
his hand, bowing and smiling to the troops as they lay 
flat on the ground. Hardly had he reached the right 
of the line when the men, who, inspired by the courage 
of their General, could now hardly restrain themselves, 
received orders to attack the advancinsf rebels. 

Eighty of his guns then opened their brazen mouths ; 
solid shot and shell were sent on their errand of de- 
struction in quick succession. They could be seen to 
fall in countless numbers among the advancing troops. 
The accuracy of the fire could not be excelled ; the 
missiles struck right in the ranks, tearing and rending 
them in every direction. The ground over which they 
had passed was strewn with dead and wounded. But, 
on they came, with bayonets flashing, and standards 
gayly flapping in the wind, marching steadily across the 
interval. The distance was nearly a mile, too great 
to double-quick, and those lines of gray moved on in 
common time, but with a steadiness and precision 
seldom equalled. The gaps in their ranks were closed 
as soon as made. 

General Mulliolland, in describing this charge, pays 
this merited compliment to the bravery of the Southern 
troops : " Our gunners now load with canister, and the 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 151 

effect is appalling ; but still they march on. Their 
gallantry is past all praise ; it is sublime. Now they 
are within a hundred yards. Our infantry rise up and 
pour round after round into these heroic troops. At 
Waterloo the Old Guard recoiled before a less severe 
fire. But there was no recoil in these men of the 
South ; they marched right on as though they courted 
death." 

At the objective point of the Confederate attack was 
but a single line of men, two ranks, with no reserves 
in sight ; and as the men stood there in one feeble 
but undaunted line, each man felt that he must die in 
his tracks if necessary, as a break in the line would 
cause a defeat of the army. 

As the enemy came nearer, they grew more excited ; 
and inspired by their officers and the hopes of an easy 
victory, they started on the run, filling the air with 
their peculiar yells. But when they reached a point 
where musket-firing l)ecame eflective, the veterans of 
the Peninsula, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancel- 
lorsville poured in upon them such a volley as to stag- 
ger them and throw them into confusion. This vfas 
followed by a rapid fire that caused them to fall back. 

Pettigrew followed Pickett, and when his division 
came in range he received like treatment ; but the 
enemy were so persistent that they actually obtained a 
foothold upon the Union line, and in some places 
hand-to-hand fights took place. 

General Plancock was everywhere, exposed to dan- 
ger and cheering, the men by his presence. He 
detected the exposed position of the left flank of Petti- 



152 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

grew's division, and caused a flank movement that re- 
sulted in the capture of many prisoners and several 
stand of colors. The terrible assault was beaten back, 
and the battle was won. A few of the Confederates 
here and there ran away and tried to regain their lines ; 
but many laid down their arms and came in as prison- 
ers. Of that attacking force, five thousand men sur- 
rendered to Hancock's troops, and thirty stand of colors 
were gathered up in front of the Second Corps. 

It was then, in the supreme moment of triumphant 
battle, that Hancock fell, among his men, at the front, 
on the line of Stannard's Vermont brigade. He was 
seen to reel in his saddle, and was helped to the 
ground — but not to the rear. 

" Shall we not carry you to the rear, General ? " in- 
quired Colonel Vesey, who was near him. 

"No, I thank jou, Colonel," said Hancock, waving 
his hand, even in pain, with the grace for which he is 
noted. "Attend to your commands, gentlemen; I 
will take care of myself." 

So he remained and continued to direct the fight 
until victory was secured. Then he sent Major 
Mitchell to General Meade, with the following mes- 
sage : — " The troops under my command have repulsed 
the enemy's assault, and we have gained a great vic- 
tory. The enemy is now flying in all directions in my 
front." The aid, in delivering this message, added the 
information, of which General Meade was then igno- 
rant, that General Hancock was desperately wounded. 
General INIeade sent back the following reply : " Say to 
General Hancock that I am sorry he is wounded, and 



WTNTEELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 153 

that I thank him, for the country and for myself, for the 
service he has rendered to-day." For such services no 
thanks and no reward could be adequate. Congress, 
by joint resolution, three years later, thanked General 
Hancock for his "gallant, meritorious, and conspicuous 
share in that great and decisive victory;" but the 
country will never forget how much it owed the 
salvation of the Union to his services on that field. 



154 LIFE A:m) public services of 



CHAPTER Xn. 

After Gettysburg. — General Meade's Keport. — Hancock's Fight 
"Terminated tlio Battle." — His Opinion of the Battle and its 
Results. — Hancock's Wound. — The Surgeon's Story. — His Jour- 
ney Home. — Invalid Soldiers carry him on their Shoulders to hia 
Father's House. — At "Longwood" with his Family. — Ho Ee- 
turns to Duty. — Recruiting the Second Corps. — Honors to Han- 
cock in Northern Cities. 

The battle of Gettysburg decided the war for the 
Union ; Hancock decided the battle of Gettysburg. 
General Meade, in his official report of this battle, 
says of the part taken by Hancock on this last decisive 
day :— 

" An assault was made with great firmness, directed prin- 
cipally against the point occupied b}' the Second Corps, and 
was repelled with equal firmness by the troops of that corps, 
supported b}^ Doubleday's division and Stauuard's brigade of 
the First Corps. Diu-ing this assault, both Major-General 
Hancock, commanding the left centre, and Brigadier-General 
Gibson, commanding the Second Corps, were severely 
wounded. 

"This terminated the battle, the enemj^ retiring to his 
Unes, leaving the field strewn with his dead and wounded, 
and numerous prisoners in our hands." 

History has given General Hancock his due as the 
"directing mind" which, on the first day of the battle 
evolved order out of confusion among the broken and 



AVTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 155 

flying troops of Meade's advance and placed the army 
in the position where it could fight and win the great 
battle of the war ; as the prompt and sagacious com- 
mander who on the second day saved the key of the 
battle-field to the Union army ; and as the valiant 
fighter who, by his personal bravery, inspired his troops 
to repel the culminating assault on the third and last 
day, and win the battle for the Republic. General 
Meade appreciatively said : " No commanding general 
ever had better lieutenant than Hancock. He was 
always faithful and reliable." 

Twelve years later, General Hancock wrote thus 
generously of his comrades in the battle of Gettys- 
burg : — 

' ' As the terrible contest at Gett3'sburg contributed in its 
results probably more than an}' other battle of the war to the 
maintenance of the Union in its integritj', so, far above pri- 
vate interests or individual reputations, rises the great renown 
won on that field by the grand old Army of the Potomac. 

" Cemetery' Hill has since become consecrated ground. 
The place where General Howard was superseded iu com- 
mand on the first day of the fight is now covered with the 
graves of thousands of gallant soldiers whose bones lie 
buried at the base of the beautiful monumental column which 
commemorates their fame. Two of the marble statues orna- 
menting the pedestal personify War aiid History. War, 
sj'mboUzcd by a soldier resting from the conflict, narrates to 
Histor}- the story of the struggle, and the deeds of the mart3T- 
heroes who fell in that famous battle. In remembrance of 
those noble comrades who laid down their lives for the gen- 
eral weal, it were simply sacrilege for any sun'ivor to pour 
into the ears of History an incorrect account of the contest ; 



156 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

still more to assume to himself honors belonging perhaps less 
to the living than to the dead. 

' ' The historian of the future who essays to tell the tale of 
Gett^'sburg undertakes an onerous task, a high responsibility, 
a sacred trust. Above all things, justice and truth should 
dwell in his mind and heart. Then, dipping his pen as it 
were in the crimson tide, the sunshine of heaven lighting his 
page, giving ' honor to whom honor is due,' doing even justice 
to the splendid valor alike of friend and foe, he may tell the 
world how rain descended in streams of fire, and the floods 
came in billows of rebellion, and the winds blew in blasts of 
fraternal execration, and beat upon the fabric of the Federal 
Union, and that it fell not ; for, resting upon the rights and 
liberties of the people, it was founded upou a rock." 

The scene of the repulse of Longstreet's grand 
charge by Hancock was indescribable. In front of the 
line of the Second Corps the dead lay in great heaps. 
Dismounted guns, ruins of exploded caissons, dead and 
mutilated men and horses were piled up together in 
every direction. The colonel of one of Pickett's regi- 
ments lay dead, his arms clasping the body of his 
brother, who was major of his regiment. They were 
singularly handsome men, and greatly resembled each 
other. Out on the field where Longstreet's corps had 
passed, thousands of wounded were lying. There was 
no means of reaching these poor fellows, and many of 
them lay there between the lines until the morning of 
the 5th. 

Many noble officers and men were lost on both sides, 
and in the camp hospital they died by hundreds during 
the afternoon and night. The rebel General Annistead 
died in this way. As he was being carried to the rear 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 157 

he was met by Capt. Harry Bingham, of Hancock's 
staff, who, getting off his horse, asked him if he could 
do anything for him. Armistead requested him to 
take his watch and spurs to General Hancock, that they 
might be sent to his relatives. Plis wishes were com- 
plied with, General Hancock sending them to his 
friends the first opportunity. Armistead was a brave 
soldier, with a most chivalric presence, and came for- 
ward in front of his brigade, waving his sword. He 
was shot through the body and fell inside of our lines. 
All the next day, July 4, the anniversary of the 
Declaration of Independence, the army lay quiet, 
awaiting events. On the morning of the 5th the 
enemy had disappeared. Meantime Hancock had been 
taken to the hospital and his wound treated as well as 
possible. It was a terrible stroke. Dr. Alexander N. 
Dougherty was Medical Director of the Second Corps 
at that time, and he tells the story in this way : — 

"When General Hancock succeeded General Conch as 
commander of the okl Second Corps, I became his Medical 
Director. At the battle of Gettysburg he commanded the 
First, Second, and Third Corps, one-half of the arm}'. In 
the third day's fight at Gettysburg he was wounded, and I 
was sent for. I found him lying on the hill-slope, under a 
tree, and facing the enemy. There was a deep, wide gash 
in his leg, near the groin. In the wound were wood splinters 
and a tenpenny nail. General Hancock was anxious to know 
what the rebels were using in theh shells. He thought he 
had been wounded by siDlinters from one of the enemy's 
shells. We put hun into an ambulance, and I lay down be- 
side him. Then we di-ove through a hot fii-e to my hospital. 



158 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Afterward I discovered that a bullet had penetrated his sad- 
dle, and then lodged in his thigh, carrying with it the wood 
splinters and the tenpenn}'- nail. As he lay in the hospital in 
great pain, I, at his dictation, wrote his first despatch to 
General Meade announcing the victoiy won at Gettysburg, 
adding to the despatch, that the defeat would be turned into 
a rout. He was calm, patient, and heroic. He is equally 
entitled with Meade to the honor of the victor}^ at Gettys- 
burg, and Meade would ■ say so if he were alive. On the 
night of the second day's battle a council of war was held. 
It was proposed to fall back and establish the line of battle 
at Pipe Creek, but Hancock opposed it. He argued that the 
arm}' should sta^' where it was, and he said that the Army of 
the Potomac had made its last retreat, and should fight or 
die on the line where the battle was begun. General Meade 
finally coincided with Hancock, and the result was that that 
great victory crippled the rebels so that they never recovered 
from it." 

General Hancock -vvent home on sick leave, wounded 
niijh unto death. The ball which tore through his sad- 
die and made that cruel wound in his thigh could not 
be found by the surgeons, and it was still in his body 
when he went back to Norristown. 

He travelled as easily as possible, although every 
movement was torture to his shattered limb. A 
stretcher was laid over the backs of the seats of the 
railway car, and thus he rode into his native town. 
Arrived at the station in Norristow'n, he was met by a 
detachment of the Invalid Guards, who tenderly placed 
him on their shoulders, lying on the stretcher, and car- 
ried him through the streets to his father's house, his 
boyhood's home. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJSTCOCK. 159 

It was a deeply moving sight. The bright and fun- 
loving boy of seemingly a few years ago was brought 
home a wounded hero, borne on the shoulders of the 
men whom he had led in battle for their country. The 
doorways and windows were crowded as the little cor- 
tege passed, and people did not cheer, but spoke with 
voices hushed in sympathy. 

General Hancock looked like a dying man when he 
was brought home to Norristown, and his parents and 
his old friends were oppressed with the gloomiest fore- 
bodings of the future. 

As has been said, the ball was still in his body. The 
surgeons at the army hospital had probed for it while 
the General lay in a recumbent posture ; but one day 
the family physician wlio attended him in Norristown 
had a bright idea and asked the General to place him- 
self as nearly as ho could in the position which he 
occupied on his horse when he was hit. The General 
straddled a chair and did so, and the doctor pushed the 
probe in easily and found the ball. It was lodged close 
upon the bone, which was more or less splintered. 

The work of extracting the ball was then easy ; and 
when this was done General Hancock's recovery, though 
slow, was steady. 

Indeed, early in September, hardly more than two 
months after he received the wound on the bloody field 
of Gettysburg, General Hancock was able to leave 
Norristown and travel toward his western home, where 
he had left his wife and children. 

He travelled by easy stages, for his wound was 
troublesome ; but always his chief thought was how 



IGO LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

he mio^ht return to the field and eno^aofe ao^ain in the 
work that still needed the hands of patriots. At New 
York we find him writing homo for certain military 
documents to be forwarded to him. At West Point he 
stopped for consultation. 

It was a tedious and painful journey, but it was 
lightened l)y the enthusiastic receptions which awaited 
the wounded hero at every tarrying place. Every one 
joined to do him honor ; public attention welcomed 
him on every side. As soon as possible he reached 
his family at his home near St. Louis, which he had 
named "Longwood." He tells in a letter home how 
his recovery progressed : — 

LoNGWooD, Mo., Oct. 12, 1863. 

My Dear Father : — I threw aside my crutches a few 
days after my arrival, and now walk with a cane. I am 
improving, but do not 5''et walli without a little " roll." My 
wound is still unhealed, though the doctors say it is closing 
rapidly. I find some uneasiness in sitting long in a chah, 
and cannot yet ride. The hone appears to be injured and 
may give me trouble for a long time. I hope, however, I 
may be well enough iu two weeks to join m}' corps. 

I am bus}^ in trimming up the forest trees in the lawn of 
" Longwood," which covers nearly eleven acres. I know it is 
not the best time, but still it will do. 

Alice and the children send their best love to you and 
mother. Please give my best love to mother, and I remain, 
as ever, 

Yom* affectionate son, 

WiNFIELD S. HA^-COCK. 

But General Hancock was compelled to hold his eager 



WnSTFIELD SCOTT HAITCOCK. 161 

soul in the leash of patience some time longer. Ilis 
commission as Major in the regular army came Nov. 
3, 1863, but still he was too feeble to return to duty. 
His spirit chafed under this restraint, and although the 
Army of the Potomac, with his own gallant Second 
Corps, was engaged during the summer and fall in what 
was termed a campaign of manoeuvres, with no dis- 
tinguishing battles, he longed to be with them. 

It was not until December, 1863, that he was able to 
enter active service again. He was then ordered to 
Washington ; and although his Gettysburg wound was 
not healed, he obeyed with alacrity, reporting to the 
War Department, Dec. 27. 

The army then being in winter quarters. General 
Hancock was sent on recruiting duty. Although the 
Confederacy was on its last legs, it still had vitality, 
and its leaders were persistent in their struggle for 
Southern independence. So Hancock was given author- 
ity to increase his corps to fifty thousand effective men , 
and was sent north to stir up the patriotism of the 
people and induce enlistments. His headquarters were 
established at Harrisburg, and he immediately set to 
work in his native State, issuing the following address 
under date of Jan. 15, 1864: — 

To THE People of Pennsylvania : 

I have come among you as a Pcnnsylvanian, for the pur- 
pose of eudeavoring to aid you in stimulating enlistments. 
This is a matter of interest to all the citizens of the State. I 
earnestl}' call upon j'ou all to assist, by the exertion of aU the 
influence in 3'oui power, in this important matter. 

To adequatel}^ reinforce our armies in the field is to insure 



162 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

that the war will not reach 5'our homes. It will be the means 
of bringing it to a speedy and happ}* conclusion. It will save 
the lives of many of our bi-ave soldiers which would be other- 
wise lost by the prolongation of the war, and in indecisive 
battles. 

It is only necessary to destroy the rebel armies now in 
the field, to insure a speedy and permanent peace. Let us all 
act with that fact in view. 

Let it not be said that Pennsylvania, which has already 
given so many of her sons to this righteous cause, shall now, 
at the eleventh hour, be behind her sister States in furnishing 
her quota of the men deemed necessar}- to end this rebellion. 
Let it not be that those Pennsylvania regiments, now so de- 
pleted, that have won for themselves so much honor in the 
field, shall pass out of existence for want of patriotism in the 

people, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock, 

Major-General JJ. S. Volunteers. 

Hancock was pre-eminently the man for the work to 
which he was set. Bravest among the brave, loyal to 
the core, wearing already the wi-eath of victor won in 
the hardest battle, a stanch Democrat, a soldier who 
carried a yet unhealed wound on his person, and, 
beyond all, possessed of that magnetic powder which 
leads men captive, he had a success which few others 
could have achieved in recruiting the waning strength 
of the Union Army. 

Philadelphia tendered him a public reception, placing 
the historic Independence Hall at his service in a special 
vote of thanks and welcome by the Select and Common 
Councils of the city government. The city of New 
York placed the governors room, in the City Hall, at 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 1G3 

his disposal for the same purpose, and received him 
with great distinction. At Albany, the Legislature 
paid him an official tribute of respect for his distin- 
guished services to the country. In Boston, the Legis- 
lature, which was then in session, invited him upon the 
floor of the House, and a public reception was given 
him by the merchants and citizens at the Merchants' 
Exchange. The people then, as now, looked up to 
him as one of their heroes, in whose Avisdom and 
energy, no less than in his valor, they trusted the 
future of the Republic. No wonder that, in later 
years, when the news of his nomination to the Presi- 
dency was flashed over the wires throughout the land, 
the people rose in glad recognition of the leader whom 
they had welcomed on his patriotic errand during those 
dark days in the winter of 1863. 



164 LEFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER Xm. 

The Wilderness. — Grant takes Command of all the Armies. — The 
Array of the Potomac crosses tho Rapidan. — Hancock Leads the 
Advance.— The Two Days' Fight in the Wilderness.— The Story of 
One of the gallant Second Corps. — Hancock leads the Charge 
against Longstreet's Men over the Breastworks. 

It was ]\Iarch of the 3^car 1804 when Hancock was 
again called to take command of the corps which ho 
had so valiantly and effectively led, and which he had 
so efficiently recruited. On the 2d of that month, 
Grant had been confirmed in the oTade of Lieutenant- 
General, and on the 10th he had been assigned, by a 
special order of President Lincoln, to the command of 
"all the armies of the United States." The Army of 
the Potomac had been recruited up to a high standard, 
largely through the efforts of General Hancock, and 
the Union and Confederate forces lay facino- each other 
along the Eapidan. 

On the 18th of March General Hancock, still actively 
engaged in recruiting his corps at Plarrisburg, Penn., 
wrote to his father : " I have just received an order from 
the Secretary of War to report without delay to him 
for instructions prior to i-ejoining my command in the 
field. I have but time to notify you of the fiict." With 
this modest announcement Hancock set out on the 
campaign that was to end the Avar of Eebellion. 

The Second Corps, Hancock's old command, was still 



i 


li!lf-i!fiiil'i:li 


1 






i^^^S^f ' 






4 J L^i 






T';>:i! 






M 



^ * i p' I 



''«lt'^a«ji-i<,;ii0 




WmriELD SCOTT HAKCOCK. 165 

further augmented by the addition of the gallant Third 
Corps, making in all upwards of fifty thousand men, 
beside which the General had under his command part 
of the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Corps, — an army of 
veterans, tried by fire. Grant had in the Army of the 
Potomac, as reorganized, a movable column of about 
one hundred and forty thousand men ; while against 
him was Lee, holding Richmond, with an army whose 
rolls at this time showed only fifty-two thousand six 
hundred and twenty-six men of all arms. The hour 
had come in which the Rebellion could be crushed. 

On the 3d of May the order went forth that the Army 
of the Potomac should launch forth on its great ad- 
venture. Lee's army occupied the bluffs that skirt the 
south bank of the Rapidan for many miles. It was a 
position impregnable to direct assault, and Grant's plan 
was to cross the river by the lower fords and turn the 
right of the Confederate army. 

Hancock's corps left Culpepper Court-House on the 
night of the 3d of Ma}'-, leading the advance in the post 
of honor which w'as eminently his due. They crossed 
Ely's Ford on the morning of the 4th, advancing to 
Chancellorsville, and bivouacking that night on the old 
battle-ground, where, one year before, they had fought 
a losing fight, though a brave one, under Hooker. 

On the following day, May 5, the long fight began, 
which has goije into history with the name of the Battle 
of the Wilderness. Hancock who took the advance of 
the left column, pushed on far ahead, and was able to 
secure and hold a strategic point on the Orange plank 
road, which the Confederate General Hill endeavored 



166 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to capture. About four o'clock in the afternoon, the 
attack was made in the midst of the dense growth 
which gave that country its name of the " Wilderness." 
The fight at once grew very fierce, the opposing forces 
being very close together, and the musketry continuous 
and deadly along the whole line. In his report of this 
battle, Lee makes mention of "Hancock's repeated and 
desperate assaults." In his own report, Hancock speaks 
of the close and deadly character of the combat, and 
has a special word to say of the Irish brigade, under 
Colonels Smythe and Brooks, which "attacked the 
enemy vigorously on his right, and drove his line some 
distance." " The Irish brigade," says Hancock, further, 
"was heavily engagecT, and although four-fifths of its 
numbers were recruits, it behaved with great steadmess 
and gallantry, losing largel}^ in killed and wounded." 

Hancock continued his eftbrts to drive Hill until eight 
o'clock, when night shut down on the darkening woods 
and ended the struggle. The combatants lay on their 
arms, exhausted after the fierce struggle, and many 
corpses in the tangled brakes and bushes told of the 
bloody work done that day. 

Thus was the battle of the Wilderness opened. It 
was fought in a country whose natural features were 
peculiarly disadvantageous for the movements of an 
army. The whole face of the country was thickly 
wooded, with only an occasional opening, and inter- 
sected by a few narrow wood-roads. But the woods 
of the Wilderness did not litive the ordinary features of 
a forest. The region is one of mineral rocks, and for 
more than a hundred years extensive iron mining had 



WESlFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 167 

been carried on there. To feed the mines, the timber 
of the country for many miles around had been cut 
down, and in its place there had arisen a dense under- 
growth of low-limbed and scraggy pines, stiff and 
.bristling chincapins, scrub-oaks and hazel. Swinton, 
in describing the theatre of what he justly calls this 
singular and terrible combat, says, : "It is a region of 
gloom and the shadow of death. Manoeuvring here 
was necessarily out of the question, and only Indian 
tactics told. The troops could only receive direction 
b}^ a point of the compass ; for not onl}'^ Avere the 
lines of battle entirely hidden from the sight of the 
commander, but no officer could see ten files on each 
side of him. Artillery was wholly ruled out of use ; 
the massive concentration of three hundred guns stood 
silent, and only an occasional piece or section could be 
brought into play in the roadsides. Cavalry was still 
more useless. But in that horrid thicket there lurked 
two hundred thousand men, and through it lurid fires 
played ; and, though no array of battle could be seen, 
there came out of its depths the crackle and roll of 
musketry, like the noisy boiling of some hell-cauldron 
that told the dread story of death." 

Hancock was also to bear the brunt of the battle on 
the following day. Both armies were awake early to 
assume the offensive. And when, at five o'clock, Han- 
cock opened the attack on the enemy in his front, he 
overpowered 1;he Confederates, and, after an hour's 
severe contest, the whole hostile front was carried, and 
the enemy driven a mile and a half through the woods, 
under heavy loss, back on the Confederates' headquur- 



168 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ters. Longstreet's arrival alone saved Lee's army from 
utter and complete defeat at tLuit time. Indeed, the 
tables were nearly tmnied ; for a fire in the woods, 
creeping up towards the breastwork of logs, behind 
which one of Hancock's division was placed, set the 
works ablaze, and drove the smoke and flame bade 
upon the men with such fury, that they were unable to 
fire over the parapet, and the enemy, pressing forward, 
planted their standard on the breastworks. Then it was 
that Hancock in person led the assault of his gallant 
corps and drove out the invaders with a rush. 

One of those who fought under Hancock in the Wil- 
derness, describes this battle : — 

" The fighting of the battle of the "Wilderness commenced, 
as 3'ou remember, on May f), 18G4. Our combined troops, 
known as the Second Corps, were given a central position, 
with a plank road to protect. The Fifth Corps was on our 
right, and the Sixth on the left. For three days, until the 
8th, our positions remained unchanged. On that day there 
was httle fighting in front of us, and there was no evidence 
that we woiild be disturbed. But General Hancock's fore- 
sight on tliis occasion, as on many others, did not assca-t itself 
in vain. All day long, under his orders, we were busy in 
intrenching ourselves. During the day General Sedgwick, of 
the Fifth Corps, came riding along with his staff and saw us 
at woi'k. 

" ' "What in the hell are 3-ou doing there?' he said, in his 
brusque way. 

" ' I am expecting an assault,' replied Hancock. 

" ' But there will be none,' Sedgwick answered ; ' the fight- 
ing will be over there on the right.' 

" ' That may be,' replied Hancock, quietly, ' but I'm going 
to be ready.' 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 1G9 

■ " 'What can 3'ou do -with a single corps?' persisted Sedg- 
wick ; ' if the rebels come here they will bring their whole 
arm}'.' 

" ' Well,' said General Hancock, ' let them come. 1 am 
going to hold this road.' 

'^ It seemed to mo that the whole rebel army did come. 
Abont four o'clock that very day, Hill's and Longstrect's corps 
were massed against us and fought for three hours. Wo wei-e 
almost driven out of our position. Man}^ of our troops had 
already turned to run, and defeat seemed imminent. Ikit we 
finalh' rallied, and stopped the advancing enemy. A few 
moments more and the gray coats were in turn retreating. 

" Over our worIi:s went Hancock, leading the pursuit, and we 
following him close!}'. We drove them about a mile and a 
half back, into the very centre of their position. That was 
the close of the battle of the Wilderness. That night the 
Confederate army retreated to Spotts3'lvania. 

"Hancock on that day was here, there, and everjnArhere, 
directing our movements. I don't know how he ever came to 
expect that attack ; but he was read}'. I suppose it was his 
wonderful foresight. All da}' long he hurried us, and was 
continually warning us that the earthworks would not be 
completed in time to protect us." 

This practically ended the battle of the Wilderness. 
Hancock, as usual, had occupied the post of danger 
and of honor; he bad driven the enemy before him, 
had suffered severely, and had wrested success out of 
the jaAvs of defeat by one of those superb exhil)itions 
of personal valor which add such brilliancy to his grand 
military genius. 

When the third da}^ May 7, dawned, neither army 
cared to take the initiative, and a cavalry combat at 



170 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Todd's Farm "was the only incident. Tens of thousands 
of dead and wounded, in blue and in gray, lay in the 
thick woods. The Union loss exceeded fifteen thou- 
sand ; the Confederates lost about eight thousand. Sueh 
was the cruel ending of this strange and horrible battle, 
which no man could see, whose progress could be fol- 
lowed only by the ear as the sharp and crackling vol- 
leys of musketry, and the alternate Union cheer and 
Confederate yell, told how the fight surged and swelled. 
But Hancock still held his advanced position. Lee 
had lost Longstreet, dangerously wounded by the fire 
of .his own men, and Grant determined to go on toward 
Richmond. Hancock pushed forward his ' advance on 
Sunday, May 8, and the entire line followed. 



"WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 171 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Spottsylvania. — Hancock fights tlio Battle of the Po. — General 
Sedgwick's Death. —: The Bloodiest Battle of the War. — Hancock 
Takes and Holds the Famous "Salient Angle." — "A Morning Call" 
on General Johnson. — Hancock's lietort. — Accounts of the Spott- 
sylvania Fight by Eye-witnesses. 

Grant's pmpose was to move southward from the 
AVilderness and plant himself between Lee's army and 
Richmond by a movement upon Spottsylvania Court- 
House, fifteen miles distant. But Lee was too quick 
for him, and on Monday, May 9, the Confederates had 
taken possession of Spottsylvania Court-House, planted 
their army across Grant's line of march, and drawn up 
on Spottsylvania Ridge a bulwark of defence where, for 
twelve days, they were able to hold in check the Army 
of the Potomac. 

This army was all brought into position on the 9th, 
and although no engagement occurred, the enemy's 
sharp-shooters brought down an illustrious victim in 
the person of General Sedgwick, commanding the 
Sixth Corps, who was shot while standing on the 
breastworks along his line, and almost instantly expired. 

These sharpshooters were perched in the forest- 
trees above the heads and out of sight of the Union 
skirmishers, and played havoc along our line. One 
who stood by General Sedgwick when he fell, describes 
the scene : — 



172 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

" A little hum of leaden bees about the advauced line of 
breastworks caused the soldiers to dodge and duck their 
heads. The General smiled at them good-naturedly ; he had 
a winning smile. Finally one bee hummed so near a poor 
Irishman's auricle that he dropped down upon his face. Gen- 
eral Sedgwick touched him with his foot in humorous dis- 
dain : ' Pooh, pooh, man ! Who ever heard of a soldier 
dodging a bullet I Wh}', they couldn't hit an elephant at this 
distance ! ' There was a laugh at this, even though the 
straggling bees j'ct hummed unpleasant!}' around. The Gen- 
eral was still smiling over the banter, when Colonel McMahon 
heard the buzz of a bullet culminate in what seemed an 
explosion close beside him. ' That must have been an ex- 
plosive bullet, General.' No answer. But as the face of 
General Sedgwick slightly turned toward the beloved officer 
at his side, a curious, sad, not despairing, but almost con- 
tented smile was upon it. Another moment, and the form of 
the General fell helplessly backward. It was caught by 
Colonel McMahon as it fell. A ball had entered the face 
just below the left eye, pierced the brain, and passed out at 
the bacli of the head. He never spoke afterward, though he 
breathed softl}' for awhile." 

During the afternoon Hancock was directed to make 
a movement across the River Po for the purpose of 
capturing a Confederate wagon-train ; Avhere, on the 
following clay, having been recalled to assist in an 
attack on another position, Hancock repulsed a despe- 
rate assault of the enemy. During the beat of the 
contest, the woods in tlie rear of the troops, between 
them and the river, took lire ; and in the midst of these 
appalling perils, with a iierce foe in front and a blazing 
forest behind, Hancock not only repelled the enemy, 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 173 

but conducted his command across the river. Here 
he lost the first gun that the Second Corps had ever 
abandoned on the field. It was left behind in con- 
sequence of being sunk in a marsh. 

Hot work awaited Hancock on his return. The hill 
which he was to assault, in conjunction with Warren's 
corps, was, as he states in his report, the most formid- 
able point along the enemy's whole front. Its densely 
wooded crest was crowned with earthAvorks, while the 
approach, which was swept by artillery and musketr}^ 
fire, was rendered more difiicult and hazardous by a 
heavy growth of cedars, — mostly dead, — the long, 
bayonet-like branches of which, interlaced and pointing 
in all directions, presented an ahnost impassable barrier 
to the advance of a line of battle. Hancock led the 
assault at five o'clock in the afternoon ; and although 
he returned again and again to tl^e attack, and the men 
even entered the enemy's breastworks at one or two 
points, the task was an impossible one. 

Finding that he could not succeed against Lee's left. 
Grant resolved to make a sudden sally against his right 
centre, and Hancock's corps was again chosen to lead 
the way, the rest of the army in support. 

On the night of IMay 11, Hancock moved his men 
into i)osition ; and at half-past four o'clock the next 
morning, as soon as the faint dawn permitted the direc- 
tion of advance to be seen through thick fog which 
prevailed, he moved forward. He advanced by the 
compass, no landmarks being visible in the fog and 
the thicket, and without firing a shot captured the Con- 
federate pickets. Then, taking the double-quick, the 



174 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

troops, with a ringing cheer, rolled like a resistless 
wave into the enemy's works, tearing away with their 
hands what abatis there was in front of the intrench- 
ments, and carried the line at all points. Inside the 
intrenchmcnts there ensued a savage hand-to-hand 
coml)at with the bayonet and clubbed muskets. 

. The fight was of short duration, resulting in the 
capture of General Johnson and nearly the whole of 
his division, four thousand men, twenty pieces of artil- 
lery, and thirty colors. The rest of the force fled to 
the rear in great confusion. 

The point Avhere Hancock struck the enemy's lino of 
works was where it formed what is called a salient ; 
and, having burst open this angle, Hancock had driven 
a wedge between the right and centre of the enemy, 
and was in a position to rive asunder the Confederate 
army. Lee made no less than five desperate assaults 
to regain this position ; but Hancock was ably sup- 
ported, and the enemy was successfully repulsed. 

Speaking of this affair, Swinton says that " of all 
the struggles of the war, this was perliaps the fiercest 
and most deadly. Frequently throughout the conflict, 
so close was the contest that the rival standards were 
planted on opposite sides of the breastworks. The 
enemy's most savage sallies were directed to retake the 
famous salient which was now become an angle of death, 
and presented a spectacle ghastly and terrible. On 
the Confederate side of the works lay many corpses 
of those who had been bayoneted by Hancock's men 
when they first leaped the intrenchmcnts. To these 
were constantly added the bravest of those who, in the 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 175 

assaults to recapture the position, fell at the margin of 
the works, till the ground was literally covered with 
piles of dead, and the woods in front of the salient 
were one hideous Golofotha." It is further stated that 
the musketry fire was so terrible as to kill the whole 
forest within its range, trees even eighteen inches in 
diameter being cut clean in two by the bullets. 

At midnight, after twenty hours of combat, Lee with- 
drew his bleeding lines. And, although the loss on the 
Union side was terrible, Hancock's victory had a moral 
effect upon the army which was worth all it cost. 

The story of his fight, as told by one of the officers 
sei-ving under Hancock, gives some entertaining inci- 
dents as observed by an actor in and an eye-witness of 
the battle : — 

"Wcwere on the extreme right on the Po River. We 
fought there ou the 10th and 11th without changing our posi- 
tions. The Confederates were intrenched ou some of the 
hills that ran around in the form of a crescent. We were ou 
the outside of this crescent, aud they on the inside. We got 
rather the worst of it during the two days' fighting. 

'' Ou the evening of the 11th, about six o'clock, Hancock 
sent word to each of his division commanders, that ho had 
orders to go to the extreme left. I was informed at the time, 
and ou good authorit}", that Hancock went directl}* to Grant, 
and received permission to make the move. That was the 
understanding then and afterwards, anj'way, in our corps. 
We did not know how this mauffiuvre would result, but we 
were willing to trust any stratagem of our commander. So 
all night long we marched quietly around the entire army. 
Our line then extended about eight miles. 

"We reached the extreme point on the left, indicated by 



170 LIFE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Hancock, about four a. m., on th^ 12th. It was just in the 
gvcLj of tho morning. We wcro th3u entirely cut off from the 
balance of our army, and were oa tho right of the enemy. 
General Hancock massed his coj'ps into three lines, and 
started the charge at a quarter past four. 

" Up the side of the hill we went, hurriedly and quietly. 
About half a mile from the intrenched lines of the enemy we 
eucountered their pickets. Ever}- man was captured without 
firing a gun. Advancing, wo took their first line without a 
sound. The second line made some resistance ; but we cap- 
tured them with but little didicult}', and charged their third 
and last line with equal success. It was a complete surprise 
to the enemy. We were only thirty minutes from the time 
we started, until we reached the veiy heart of tho enemy's 
camp. It was one of the most brilliant and successful moves 
of the war. 

"I was the witness of a little incident on that occasion, 
which might be interesting. When we had captured the third 
line, General Hancock, who, as usual, was leading us, rode 
up to the headquarters of General Johnson, who was com- 
manding the division of the eneiii}' we had assaulted. I for- 
get his first name, but I remember that he and Hancock were 
classmates at West Point. An orderly stood outside the tent. 
I was standing near by at the time and saw Hancock Avhen 
he rode up. 

" ' Is General Johnson in?' he asked of the orderlv, who 
replied in the affirmative. 

'''Ask him to step out,' said Hancock; and preseutl}'' 
Johnson appeared, buttoning up his clothes, for he was not 
3et dressed. 

" 'I have come to make you a morning call,' remarked 
our general, pleasantly, at the same time extending his hand. 
But Johnson was furious. 

" 'I cannot take your hand on such an occasion as this,' 
he exclauiied, angrily. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 177 

"'Oh, well,' answered General Hancock, 'j'ou can do 
just as you please ; only I thought I would like to make just 
as pleasant a job of this as possible. Under other circum- 
stances I would not have offered j'ou mj'^ hand.' 

" In this retort the character of the man revealed itself in 
strong colors. He respected misfortune in any man, but 
could not be friendly to a rebel in ai-ms. 

' ' Then the defeated general was turned over to some staff 
officer and carried to the rear. 

" Having gained this position, we had to keep it. Fearing 
an attack, we immediately commenced to intreuch ourselves. 
About two hours afterwards, the cnemj^'s troops came upon 
us in a S'olid mass, under cover of their artillery. Hancock 
was going everj^where, talking to our troops. 

" ' Boys,' said he, ' we have captured this position and we 
must hold it. K we let them have this place thej'^ will serve 
us worse than we did them. It will be death for ever}' man 
of you.' 

"We stayed there. All day long the}'- kept firing upon 
us, but b}' nine o'clock that night the guns died down. Next 
morning the Confederates had departed and were on their 
way to Cold Harbor. This occasion was known as Han- 
cock's great charge at Spottsylvania." 

A war correspondent describes the terrible conflict 
over the salient angle in the enemy's works which 
Hancock had taken and was holding : — 

"A battle raged over those intrenchments, the intense 
fury and heroism and horror of which it is simply impossible 
to describe at all. Five distinct, savage, tremendous charges 
were made by the enemy to retake that position. The lines 
of both armies met in a continual death-grapple in and to the 
right of the angle of death taken in the morning. yTo have 



178 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

looked clown on that battle from a height ttouIcI have been 
like gazing into the smoke and din of an earthquake. Col- 
umn after column of the enemy penetrated to the very face 
of the breastwork, to be hewn down and sent back like a 
broken wave. Column after column still came on, dealing 
death and meeting it, and making wa}' for other columns, 
and others still ; and all the da}' long, against this rush of a 
foe that seemed disdainful of life, the angle was held by 
our troops, lighting, falling, but un3'ielding, to the close. 
When the night came, the angle of those works, where the 
battle had been the hottest, and from which the enem}- had 
been finally driven, had a spectacle, for whoever cared to 
look, that would never have enticed his gaze again. Men 
in hundreds, killed and wounded together, were piled in hid- 
eous heaps, some bodies that had lain for hours under the con- 
centric fire of the battle being perforated with wounds. The 
writhing of wounded beneath the dead moved these masses 
at times ; at times a lifted arm or a quivering limb told of an 
agony not yet quenched by the Lethe of death around." 

The cruel sharpness of war had never a more vivid 
illustration than in these battles of the Wikierness ; nor 
was the patriotic heroism of commanders and of men 
ever more grandly shown than in these contests where 
none of the pomp of battle accompanied the struggle, 
but only its horrors were to be found. 



WmFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 179 



CHAPTER XV. 

r*«>ld Harbor. — The March from Spottsylvania toward Richmond. — 
A Kace betweeu Two Armies. — Haucock liuds Lee before him at 
the North Auua. — He Carries the Bridge. — Hancock at Cokl Har- 
bor. — He Carries the Enemy's Lines. — A Fight at Close Quarters. 
— Amenities of the Combat. 

The advance from Spottsylvania was not made until 
the 20th of May, and in the meantime Hancock was 
engaged in the desperate but not altogether successful 
attempts of Grant to force his way straight across the 
Confederate fortifications from the position he had cap- 
tured on the 12th. 

In the meantime, Sheridan, in whose command the 
dashing Custer was a subordinate, was maldng his won- 
derfully brilliant cavalry movements in the Shenandoah 
Valley and onward towards Richmond. This episode 
forms one of the most spirited chapters in the history 
of our war ; and the meeting of the two great cavalry 
leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, Sheridan with the 
Union troopers and Stuart with the Confederate "riders, 
makes one of its most romantic pages. 

When at lensrth Hancock was ordered forward, on 
the 20th of May, the movement was in Jfiict a race 
between the two opposing armies for a new vantage- 
ground on the road to Richmond. This ground was on 
the North Anna River. 

The country through which Hancock led his corps on 



180 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

this hasty march was a ■wonderful and striking con-, 
trast to that whose horrors they left behind them. It 
was fair and fertile, beautifully undulating, with many 
large and line plantations in the river-bottoms. The 
blight of war had not 3'et touched it ; but here were 
fields with sprouting wheat and growing corn and 
hixuriant clover, homesteads with great ancestral elms 
and bountiful farms. 

But when, on the 23d, Hancock came in sight of the 
North Anna, he saw on the opposite bank "the enemy 
in large force marching in column, evidently en route 
from Spottsylvania." Hancock had to force a passage 
of the river, and that, too, over a (ele da jwnt which the 
Confederates had constructed and manned at the Ches- 
terfield Bridge. Hancock made the assault, with Pierce 
and Eijan's bri2:ades, about an hour before sundown, 
under a heavy fire, the troops sweeping across the open 
plain at double-quick, making a foothold in the parapet 
Avith their bayonets, clambering over it, driving out the 
enemy, and capturing the bridge. 

On the further advance, Hancock led another brilliant 
skirmish at the Tolopotomy ; and when Grant deter- 
mined to force the passage of the Chickahominy at 
Cold Harbor, Hancock was given the place on the left 
of the lino as the order of battle was formed. 

The assault upon the enemy's works was ordered to 
be by a general advance all along the line at half-past 
four in the morning of June 3. It was short, sharp, 
and bloody work. Before five o'clock the battle was 
decided. It was impossible to dislodge the enemy. 
Hancock's corps advanced for half a mile through woods 



WrNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 181 

and over open intervals, under a severe fire, straight up 
to the enemy's works, and repeated the brilliant exploit 
of the " salient angle " at Spottsylvauia. They climbed 
over the enemy's parapet, captured his guns, and 
carried oli' five or six hundred prisoners, with their 
colors. But it was useless. The works could not be 
carried as a whole, ait liough Hancock's men fortified 
themselves in an advanced position. 

One of the most remarkable incidents of the war oc- 
curred here. It was the retention of a position, all day, 
within fifteen yards of the enemy's works. The heroic 
band which performed this exploit was the brigade of 
Colonel McKean, in Hancock's corps, numbering about 
eight hundred men. Through the livelong day those 
men held their line within fifteen yards of the enemy, 
and all his force could not dislodge them. 

The way it happened was that, through a fault of 
engineering, the rebel intrenchments were drawn on 
the rearward slope of the crest in front of Hancock, and 
thus thrown so far back that his men, when repulsed, 
were partially under cover as soon as they had passed 
the ridge, and their sharpshooters were able to keep 
the enemy's heads down long enough to allow hastily 
improvised parapets to be thrown up. 

llcpeatedly during the day the enemy formed double 
columns of attack, to come over the works and assail 
them ; and the ofiicers could be heard encouraging their 
troops ])y, telling them "there are only four or five 
hundred of them — come on ! " But the moment the 
rebels showed themselves above the parapet, a line of 
fire flashed out from behind the earthen mound where 



182 LIFIS AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

eight hundred heroes stood in a new Thermopylae, and 
many a Confederate threw up his arms and fell prone 
under their swift aven2:in<? bullets. 

The sequel is as curious as the deed itself; for while 
the enemy dared not venture out to assail McKean's 
men, neither could he get back from his perilous posi- 
tion. In this dilemma, the ingenious device was hit 
upon of running a zigzag trench up from the Union lines 
to his. In this manner a working party was able to 
dig its way up to where they lay, begrimed with powder 
and worn out with fatigue, and at last they were brought 
safely away — all that were left of them. The gallant 
McKean vv'as shot down Avhile standing up to receive a 
rebel assault. 

So close were the lines of the contendinsf armies 
after this battle, that often not more than fifty yards 
separated them. A man would call out from behind 
the Union breastworks the sisfual of attack — " Forward ! 
Guide centre!" — and the Confederates, hearing all 
that was said, would start up behind their parapet, 
while our men, just peering above their pits, would 
" draw a bead " on their tricked opponents and bring 
many a one down with a bloody gift. 

Or, on the other side, one would call a parley and 
cry out : 

"Yanks, ain't it about your time to cook coffee?" 

"Yes," the Yanks would reply. 

" Then," the response would come from the other 
side, " if you won't shoot while I make my johnny- 
cake, I won't shoot while you make your coffee." 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 183 

This culinary truce was always observed with the 
strictest fidelity. 

General Hancock, in his report of this battle, uses 
the significant language : " The troops advanced as far 
as the example of their officers could carry them." 
The position could not be carried, and officers and 
men realized it. An attempt was made to reduce the 
works by siege ; but this was given up in a few days, 
and Grant determined to transfer his army to the south 
of the James Kiver. 



184 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Petersburg.— Hancock Celebrates Bunker-bill Day. — He Leads Suc- 
cessful Movemeuts about Petersburg. — His Old Wound Reopens. 
— On Sick Leave Again but Quickly Returns.— The Explosion of 
the Petersburg Mine and its Disastrous Results. 

On the 15th of May, as Hancock was marching under 
orders to " take np a position where the City Point 
Railroad crosses Harrison's Creek," — a position which 
did not exist, except upon an incorrect and worthless 
map from which the orders Y>"ere drawn, — he received 
a despatch from General Grant directing him to use all 
haste in going to the assistance of General Smith, Avho 
had attacked Petersburg. This was the first intimation 
that Hancock had received that Petersburg was to be 
attacked that day, or that General Smith was operating 
against the place. He hastened forward, but was 
unable to join Smith until after the attack had been 
made. General Hancock writes in his report: "The 
messages from Lieutenant-General Grant and from 
General Smith, which I received between five and six 
p. M., on the 15th, were the first and only intimation I had 
that Petersburg was to be attacked that day. Up to 
that hour I had not been notified from any source that 
I was expected to assist General Smith in assaulting 
that city." 

General Meade endorsed, in a report now on file in the 
Army Department : " Had General Hancock or myself 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 185 

known that Petersburg was to be attacked, Petersburg 
would have fallen." But Grant was compelled to sit 
down before that city in formal siege for nearly a year 
before it yielded. 

General Hancock, to whom, in the absence of Grant 
and Meade, the command of the field fell, was re- 
strained from attacking, by orders from Meade, until 
the remaining corps of the Army of the Potomac 
should arrive ; and this happening on the IGth, he 
made the assault that day, driving the enemy some dis- 
tance along the whole line. The attack w^as renewed 
by Hancock and Burnside on the 17th, the former 
succeeding in taking some important ground. 

The movement of Hancock was designed to carry 
the four lines of works of the enemy outside the city, 
drive the Confederates into Petersburg, and, if possible, 
capture the town. On this, " Bunker-hill Day," writes 
one of the old Sixth Corps, Avhich was then part of 
Hancock's command, " General Hancock formed his 
troo]3s, in a piece of wood, between two forts, in such 
a way, and at such a point, that the enemy had no idea 
of what he was doins;. Just as niofht was fallina: he 
led us out on the charo'e. Instead of chars-ino" either 
of the two forts, he led us on a dead run right between 
them. When on the other side he deployed his troops, 
and effected the capture of both. The enemy was so sur- 
prised that we met wath little resistance. Then w^e 
made a gallapt charge on the second line, and after a 
sharp fight secured it. Then the third line w^as 
stormed, and though the battle was now severe, we 
were successful. At the fourth line, however, we were 



186 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

repulsed. Then the point was to maintain the position 
we had o-ained. It was now late at nis^lit, and the 
hostilities closed. The next morning, however, they 
opened upon us from all directions. As at Spottsyl-' 
vania, Hancock told us that our position must be held 
or it was certain death for all of us. We did hold it ; 
but it was hard work." 

But this arduous labor for his country was performed 
at great cost. It will bo remembered that Hancock 
was yet a wounded man, and under the surgeon's care 
when he took the field -with Grant in the new Army of 
the Potomac. The hardships of the campaign had the 
effect of reopening the wound received at Gettysburg, 
and, on the evening of the 17th of June, his iron con- 
stitution broke down and he was compelled, with the 
greatest reluctance, to turn over the command of his 
corps, though he did not leave the held. 

During the greater part of the campaign, indeed, he 
had suffered the most intense pain, being compelled to 
occupy an ambulance during the march, and only 
mounting his horse when his troops came in contact 
with the enemy, and his personal presence was needed 
to direct and inspire them. 

The wound was in the upper part of the thigh. It 
had fractured and splintered the upper part of the 
femur, and at one time it was thought that his life could 
not be saved. A splendid constitution, however, and 
the best surgical skill, had brought him through the 
worst, and his entire recovery woukl have followed had 
not his impatience to be with his command in the field 
prevailed over his judgment. The penalty for this he 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 187 

no"w had to pay by a brief retirement from tlie com- 
mand of his corps. 

On the 27th of June, however, he again took com- 
mand, and participated in the operations before Peters- 
burg until July 26, when he crossed to the north side 
of the James River, with his corps and a division of 
cavalry, and assaulted the enemy's lines at Deep Bot- 
tom, capturing the outer works, tAv^o hundred prison- 
ers, several stands of colors, and four pieces of 
artillery. 

It was while Hancock was engaged in these opera- 
tions that General Burnsido conceived and put in execu- 
tion the idea of capturing the defences of Petersburg 
by assault after the demoralization consequent upon the 
explosion of a mine, through the breach formed by 
whicli an assaulting column could push forward and 
sweep the enemy right and left. The hour for the 
explosion was fixed at half-past four on the morning of 
July 30 ; and, as if to give chances to fate, Burnside 
decided the choice of the assaulting division bv castins: 
lots, or, as Grant expressed it, by "pulling straws or 
tossing coppers." 

Hancock had just returned from his fortunate expe- 
dition to Deep Bottom, and was not concerned in the 
affair in any way. The match was applied to the 
mine at the hour appointed ; but, owing to a defect in 
the fuse, the mine failed to explode. A second attempt 
succeeded, at about fifteen minutes before five o'clock 
in the morning. The effect produced is described as 
showinj? a solid mass of earth, throus^h which the 
exploding powder blazed like lightning playing in a 



188 LIFE A^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

bank of clouds, slowly rising some two hundred feet 
in the air, and hanging visibly a few seconds. Then 
it subsided, and a heavy cloud of black smoke floated 
off. 

The explosion of the mine was the signal for a simul- 
taneous outburst of artillery from the various batteries, 
and Leslie's division of Burnside's corps advanced to 
the charge. 

On reaching the site of the fort, it was found to have 
been converted by the explosion into a huge crater one 
hundred and fifty feet long, sixty feet wide, and from 
twenty-five to thirty feet dee]). Here the assaulting 
column souo'ht shelter, thou2:h there was nothins: to 
prevent its rushing forward and occupying the crest 
beyond, for the enemy was paralyzed by the explosion 
and remained inactive for some time. But the troops 
huddled together in the crater ; and, as Meade said in 
his report, a scene of disorder and confusion com- 
menced which continued to the end. The enemy 
rallied, brought their guns to Ijear, and poured shells 
and bombs into the hollow of the exploded earthworks 
where the Union troops were clustered. The crater 
became a slaughter-pen. Burnside sent out the colored 
division, and the brave black fellows pushed far ahead 
and captured prisoners and a stand of colors, but were 
beaten back into the fatal crater. Disaster followed. 

General Hancock was a member of the military court 
of inquiry instituted soon after this failure, and the 
court found its causes to be : first, the injudicious form- 
ation of the troops in going forward ; second, the 
halting of the troops in the crater, instead of going 



"WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 189 

forward to the crest, when there was no fire of any con- 
sequence from the enemy ; third, no proper employ- 
ment of engineer officers and working parties, and of 
materials and tools for their use, in the Ninth Corps ; 
fourth, that some parts of the assaulting columns were 
not properly led ; fifth, the want of a competent com- 
mon head at the scene of the assault, to direct afitiirs 
as occurrences should demand. 

But, while the causes of the mine fiasco before Peters- 
burg may be differently judged by experts, the ordinar}^ 
non-professional mind will always incline to the belief 
that it failed because a soldier of Hancock's magnetic 
presence, quick perceptioli, and instant action was not 
the director and the leader of the assault. 



190 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XVn. 

About Petersburg. — Haucock Commands at Deep Bottom. — Pro- 
motiou to be Biigadier-Geueral iu the Regular Army. — His Horse 
shot uuder him at Reams' Station. — Battle of the Boydton Plauk 
Road. — Recruiting a Veteran Corps. — Brevet Major-General for 
Gallantry at Spottsylvania. — In Command of the Middle Military 
Division when Lee Surrenders and the Confederacy collapses. 

Ox the 12tli of August, 18G4, Hancock was promoted 
another long step in the regular army, his commission 
as Brioradier-General beins: issued to him on that date. 
The same day he was ordered to take command of the 
first of the several expeditions which Grant made 
against the enemy from his position before Petersburg. 
On this expedition General Hancock's force consisted 
of his own Second Corps, the Tenth Corps, and Gen- 
eral Gregg's division of Cavalry. The movement was 
made against the enemy at Deep Bottom, where the 
Confederates were met in largely superior force, and 
General Hancock returned with several hundred pris- 
oners and several stands of colors. Hancock returned 
to his camp before Petersburg on the 21st, after a very 
fatiguing march, and was immediately ordered to un- 
dertake the work of tearing up the railroad track to 
Eeams' Station. This occupied the time until the 25th, 
when the enemy approached in strong force to prevent 
further destruction of the line. 

Hancock met the assault with firmness and with per- 



^vmFrELD scott Hancock. 191 

sistent bravery, although against tremendous odds. In 
spite of the fact that" the support for which he tele- 
graphed did not reach him, he held the ground valiantly 
through the day, being, as usual, on horseback among 
his troops, cheering and inspiring them, and again nar- 
rowly escaped death, having his horse shot under him. 
Both armies had enough of it during the day, and 
simultaneously withdrew after dark. 

After the loss of the Weldon Eailroad Lee's depend- 
ence was largely upon the Boydton plank road, from 
which Hancock was instructed to drive the Confeder- 
ates. The expedition was only partially successful, 
the support not being what it should have been ; but 
the brilliancy of Hancock's repulse of the great assault 
of the enemy, and the skill with which he handled the 
force under his command, elicited expressions of admi- 
ration even from Grant himself. 

The battle of Boydton plank road was the last that 
General Hancock fought with his gallant Second Corps. 
He had been a sick man during all this campaign. 
When not oij active fighting duty, he was in the hands 
of the surgeons ; and even when on the march and in 
the battle, his wound had to be dressed daily, and 
.ilmost as frequently pieces of the splintered bone were 
removed by the surgeons. It Avas his indomitable 
spirit that kept him up. 

But, great as was the value of his services in the 
field, his country had yet greater need of him in another 
department of patriotic duty. 

There vv'erc then many veteran soldiers in the country, 
whose terms of service had expired, and the govern- 



192 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ment considered the best means of calling into the field 
this desirable element. Veteran soldiers, having been 
once honorably discharged, hesitated to re-enter the 
service in regiments recruited since their own enlist- 
ments ; so it was thought advisable to raise a corps 
which should consist of veterans alone. The man to 
whom the President first looked was, in regard l^oth to 
the length and severity of his service, the chief of all 
the veteran general officers of the army ; and that man 
was General Hancock. 

So Hancock was ordered, on the 26th of Xovember, 
18G4, to report at Washington and undertake the 
organization of this veteran corps. It was determined 
to make this corps fifty thousand strong ;, and it was 
very justly believed that, with Hancock at the head of 
this organization, the old soldiers would at once flock 
to the standard, and the force be recruited in the short- 
est possible time. This idea proved a correct one. 

But this corps of veterans was destined never to be 
called into action. Events were marching fast, and 
Hancock's sword could not be spared from the field in 
the last terrible struo-o-le for the extinction of the Con- 
federate army. So he was again ordered to the front, 
in command of the Middle Militarj^ Division, Feb. 27, 
1865, and made his headcpiarters at Winchester, the 
division embracing the departments of AVest Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, and Washington, and the force under his 
command includhig the Army of the Shenandoah, 
amounting to nearly one hundred thousand men of all 
arms. 

With this force it was expected a decisive blow, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 193 

in one direction or the other, would be struck, and 
General Hancock was under orders to be ready to 
move at a few hours' notice, either on Lynchburg, to 
co-operate with the Army of the Potomac, or to take 
transports for the southern coast to co-operate with 
General Sherman, as the exigencies of the campaign 
should demand. But the end came sooner than was 
anticipated. Lee's defence of Petersburg collapsed, 
and the surrender of his decimated, ragged, and 
hungry, but bravely persistent troops, was made at 
Appomattox Court-House, April 9, 1865. 

About a month before this, on the 13th of March, Gen- 
eral Hancock had received further official recognition 
of his services in the form of a brevet to Major-General- 
ship in the regular army, given " for gallant and meri- 
torious services at the battle of Spottsylvania." 

The sketch of General Hancock's military services 
during the active period of the Rebellion cannot be bet- 
ter closed than with the following picture of him, as a 
man and as a commander, by one who knew and 
served under him : — 

' ' General Hancock appears the very beau ideal of the sol- 
dier. His figure is tall and finely shaped. His eye is clear, 
blue, inquh'ing, beuiguaut in repose, but inspiring in danger 
and in earnestness. In manners, no man ever surpassed him. 
He is the embodiment of knightly courtesy, yet his dignit}'^ is 
of the simple republican type that reminds one of the ideal 
Cincinnatus. No young officer, with apprehensions, for the 
fii-^t time, ever reported to him and went awa}^ with any 
cth'jr feeling than that Hancock was the man he wanted to 
sci've under for life. 



194 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

" To his subordinates he was always kindliness itself. He 
put one at his ease at once ; gave confidence ; made a man 
think better of himself ; made him think he amounted to a 
good deal more than he ever before suspected. This was one 
of the great secrets of Hancock's success on the field. The 
men and officers all felt that the^'^ had come in personal con- 
tact with their commander ; that they had made him think 
they were brave, good, reliable men ; and when the crisis came, 
they would rather die than destro}'^ that opinion. Hancock's 
reproof, on the other hand, was not a thing to be wished for 
twice. He was severe in his requirements, and sometimes 
made his colonels and generals wish that they were an^nvhere 
but under the plain severity of his talk. Yet after the lesson 
was taught, the wound was at once healed by some attention, 
so kindly and so gracious, that the object of it felt at last 
that he had really gained by the transaction. 

" Thus he was to his subordinates. What he was to his 
superiors is a matter of history. No more lo3'al executor of 
orders ever bestrode a horse. There are brilliant reputations 
whose dead and living owners owe them to that loyal per- 
formance of duty. He went forward cheerfull}', without 
murmuring or questioning, in the accomplishment of what 
was assigned to him, from first to last, willing to do anything 
and be anything in the service of his country. Hancock's 
first Division Commander, that splendid veteran and stub- 
born fighter, who was himself generally in hot water with his 
official superiors, Major-General 'Baldy' Smith said of Han- 
cock : ' He was the most loyal subordinate I ever knew. He 
always tried to carry out his orders in their spirit as well as 
to the letter, and whatever he might think of them, when he 
received them they became his own and a part and parcel of 
himself.' 

"Happy for the Republic had it more sons, more soldiers, 
and more statesmen like this ! " 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAIfCOCK, 195 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hancock aa a Commander. — The Love aud Admiration of bis Sol- 
diers for tlieir General. — " A Soldier's Duty is to Obey and Fight."— 
General Walker describes his Character and Habits. — Custer 
Sketches him at Williamsburg. — "Gentlemen, Charge with the 
Bayonet." — The Secret of Hancock's Genius. — The Invincible 
Second Corps. — An Incident of Gettysburg. 

General Hancock was a commander who secured 
not only the confidence, but the love and admiration of 
his troops. He was of splendid appearance, and of a 
most magnetic manner. He was, moreover, sym- 
pathetic as well as strict, kindly as well as stern, and, 
beyond all, he impressed all who came in contact with 
him with his thoroug^h earnestness. There was not a 
soldier in his larofest command who would not die 
happy under Hancock's approving eye ; there was not 
one who failed to feel the electric shock which ran 
through the whole line when Hancock rode into sight 
on the field of battle. 

One of those who served under him says : " He was 
universally beloved by his soldiers. There was not a 
man, from a private to the highest officer, that did not 
admire him. He was one of the strictest disci[)linarians 
in the army. One instance I remember. In the fall 
of 1864, during the campaign of Lincoln and McClel- 
lan, the officers and soldiers indulged in pretty free dis- 
cussions of the conduct of the war on the part of the 
administration. Hancock issued a general order, which 



196 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

was read to eveiy regiment, commanding that all this 
should cease. ' Our first duty,' he said, in substance, 
'is to stop the Rebellion, not to talk. When the war is 
over you can criticise as much as you like. Until then, 
a soldier's duty is to obey and fight.' " 

It was this strict conscientiousness, this unswerving 
purpose to compel respect for what is right, which 
gave the foundation to the noble character of General 
Hancock. He was, first of all, true to himself, in the 
highest sense of that phrase. He could conceive of no 
deviation in the slightest degree from the straight path 
of honor for himself, and he could not tolerate it in 
others. He personified moral force as clearly and 
vividly as he did physical courage. 

Gen. Francis A. Walker, who has had charge of the 
taking of the United States census of 1870 and 1880, 
was on General Hancock's staff at one time during the 
war, and, like every one else who came to know him, 
Avas filled with admiration of the soldier and respect 
for the man. General Walker says of him : " General 
Hancock was an ideal commander. His presence in 
the camp or along the line was like an imjnilse which 
every soldier felt. It seemed to tra\'el through the 
army like a great wave. It is needless to say that he 
was everywhere beloved and admired. It was impos- 
sible for it to be otherwise when one saw the force of 
his character and his enthusiasm and energy. As a 
military genius he was a tactician of great skill and 
adroitness, as well as an executor of energy and power. 
It is yeldom that you find these qualities in one man, 
for it is generally considered as incompatible that a 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 197 

sagacity which was almost cunning should be combined 
with dash and industry. General Hancock possessed 
both to a hiiih dcOTce." 

At the breaking out of the war, that wild, dashing, 
and wonderfully versatile young cavalry leader, Gen. 
George A. Custer, was a cadet at West Point. He 
was a fiery young fellow, full of animal spirits, and at 
once applied to be sent to the field ; this application, 
moreover, serving to relieve him from the unpleasant 
duty of appearing to answer before the stern profes- 
sors at the military academy for a madcap escapade 
in which he had then recently indulged. So he was 
sent down to General Smith's headquarters in the 
Army of the Potomac, to make himself useful and 
wait for a more definite assignment. There he fell 
in with General Hancock, and the two seemed to ap- 
preciate each other. Hancock was Custer's senior by 
twenty years at West Point ; but they had one clement 
of character in common which certainly attracted the 
younger man to the veteran. This was an utter ab- 
sence of self-consciousness in time of dans^er. In 
Custer's case, this approached recklessness ; in Han- 
cock, it was so combined with more substantial traits 
as to become simply one of the illustrations of his 
sublime strength of character. 

It is interesting to read some of Custer's sketches of 
his experiences with Hancock, they are at once so free 
and so fresh. One of these, left among his posthumous 
papers when he met his cruel fate on the Rosebud, 
describes Hancock on the day when he had turned the 
flank of the Confederates at Williamsburg and awaited 



198 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

events with the whole rebel army in front of him and 
a small brigade of sixteen hundred of his own men 
by his side. Custer wrote : — 

" Hancock's orders prevented him from advancing beyond 
the position he then held. The strength of his forces, how- 
ever, would not have justified him in proceeding against Fort 
Magruder unless closely supported by at least twice his own 
numbers. His position was such, however, that with a 
reasonable force at his command. Fort Magruder, and conse- 
quently the enemy's entire line, was untenable the moment he 
chose to advance. Fully impressed with the importance of 
the point he held, Hancock, as early as eleven o'clock, sent a 
staff officer back to represent the situation of affairs and to 
request reinforcements. The request was delivei*ed to Gen- 
eral Smith, the division commander, who, heartil}' approving 
of Hancock's views, urged General Sumner, then senior offi- 
cer on the field, to grant the request. General Sumner, 
anxious regarding Hooker's position on the left, declined, 
and instead directed Hancock to hold his ground, but not to 
advance. 

"Again Hancock sent a staff officer, urging in stronger 
terms the importance of promptly reinforcing him in order 
that he might at once decide the battle by driving the enemy 
from their works. From his position to Sumner's headquar- 
ters, by the circuitous route necessary to be taken, was 
several miles. Hancock awaited the reply to his second 
appeal with unfeigned anxiety. It came, and instead of 
acceding to his request, it directed him to relinquish the 
vantage-ground already gained, and which furnished the key 
to the enemy's position, and to retire to the redoubt covering 
the crossing over the dam. It was two o'clock when the last 
messenger arrived. 

" Those who have seen Hancock when affairs with which 



WIInTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 199 

he was counected wei'e not conducted in conformity witli his 
views, can imagine the manner in which he received the order 
to retire. Never at a loss for expletives, and with feelings 
wrought up by the attendant circumstances, Hancock was 
notr at all loath to express his condemnation of the polic}', 
which, from his standpoint, was not only plainly unnecessary, 
but, in the end, must prove disastrous. His was a difficult 
position to occup}', so far as he personally was concerned. 
After receiving the order to withdraw, rendered more impera- 
tive from the fact of its being a reply to his request for 
authorit}^ and troops to enable him to advance, his first duty 
as a soldier was to obey. His judgment rebelled against such 
a course, and urged him to remain and make one more effort 
to secure the adoption of his views. The responsibilitj' was 
gTcat ; but he assumed it, trusting to events to justify his 
course. Another staff oflicer was sent back, bearing a most 
urgeii.t appeal from Hancock for assistance, and more fully 
explaining the importance of his position. Taking out his 
watch, Hancock, in conversation with the writer, remarked, 
* It is now two o'clock. I shall wait till four ; if no reply 
reaches me from headquarters, I will then withdraw.' 

" The m.omeuts flew by till an hour had elapsed since the 
departure of the last messenger, and still no reply from head- 
quarters. Hancock's impatience, of which he has ever seemed 
to have an inexhaustible supply, increased with each passing 
moment. But little was going on in his front save the usual 
sharpshooting between skii'mishcrs at long range ; yet each 
discharge of a musket seemed to add to the anxiety of him 
whose imperturbability has never rendered him remarkable. 

"A fourth staff officer was despatched at a gallop to 
hasten, if possible, the expected and long-hoped-for message 
from ' Old Bull,' as General Sumner was familiarly termed by 
the entire arrny. Messenger after messenger was ordered 
upon this errand, until the hour-hand marked the hour of 



200 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

four, and still no orders came. It was hard for the young 
brigade commander to relinquish the victory which he justly 
believed was within his grasp. He had said he would with- 
di'aw at four o'clock, but when the hour arrived it found him 
still anxious and eager to carry out his first plan of battle, 
and. with a faltering hope, he said, ' I will wait a half hour 
longer ; if no orders reach me during that time, I must 
retire.' 

"He was then without a staff officer, — aids, adjutant- 
general, and all having been hurried back for orders and 
reinforcements." 

There is a pecular charm in getting such a glimpse 
of the " superb Hancock " as this sketch affords, drawn 
hy a young trooper who regarded less the dignity than 
the fun of every situation, and who pictures Hancock 
not as a demi-god, but as very much a man. 

We all know what was the outcome of Hancock's 
anxious waiting behind the Confederate works at "Wil- 
liamsburg. Ivcinforccments did not come, and he had 
to meet alone the charge of Longstreet's and Early's 
troops. But Custer describes it in such an entertaining 
way, throwing such strong side-lights on Hancock's 
feelings and actions at this time, that we reproduce his 
story : — 

" The enemy were advancing rapidly and confidently. 
Hancock, deprived of the assistance of ever^^ member of his 
own staff, none having returned from the division commander, 
busied himself b}' riding along the line encoiu'aging his men 
and urgiug them to do their duty in the fast approaching 
struggle. ' Aim low, men — aim low,' was his oft-repeated 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 201 

injunction ; and, ' Do not be in a hurry to fire until they come 
nearer.' 

" Although the enemy had advanced nearly a thousand 
yards across an open and nearly level plain, within easy 
range of the guns of Hancock's men, the latter permitted 
them to approach undisturbed. 

"Hancock, realizing to the fullest extent his precarious 
situation, strove in every possible manner to inspire his troops 
with confidence. To him the coming contest was destined 
to become more than an ordinary victory or defeat : if the 
former, all would be well, and no unhappy criticisms would 
follow him ; if defeat — and defeat under the circumstances im- 
plied the loss or capture of most if not all of his command — • 
then death upon the battle-field was far preferable, to the sensi- 
tive and high-minded soldier, to the treatment which would be 
meted out to him who, in violation of positive orders had 
repeatedly declined to withdraw his command, but had re- 
mained until obedience was no longer practicable, and his 
command was threatened with annihilation. It was prob- 
ably with thoughts of defeat, and its personal consequences 
of a court-martial for disobedience of orders, that at the 
moment when the fighting on both sides became terribly in 
earnest, and the firing loudest, Hancock, galloping along his 
lines, hat in hand, the perfect model of a field-marshal that 
he has since proven himself to be, in tones which even the 
din of battle could not drown, appealed to his troops, saying, 
'■ Men, 3'ou must hold this ground, or I am ruined.' It was 
but the utterance of the thought that was passing through 
his mind at that moment, and it neither checked nor added 
to the ardor with which Hancock deports himself in battle. 
His brilliant, dashing courage, displayed upon scores of bat- 
tle-fields since the one here referred to, has shown that he 
requires no personal motive to inspire him to deeds of heroism. 
The Confederates, with a courage which has never been sur- 



202 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

passed by the troops upon either side, boldly advanced, de- 
livering their fire as rapidly as possible, and never ceasing to 
utter their inspiring battle-cry. 

" About forty yards in front of Hancock's line, and parallel 
to it, was an ordinary rail fence. The advanced line of the 
Confederates reached this fence ; and had they been less 
brave, or had they been the veterans of either army, who 
four years later had been thoroughly schooled into the idea 
that breastworks and courage were almost inseparable ad- 
juncts in the art of war, it is probable that their advance 
would never have crossed the fence, but, protected by the 
questionable cover of the rails, would have made a stand, 
and from there retui-ned the terribly destructive fire their 
enemies were pouring into their ranks. The fence seemed 
to offer no obstacle, however, to the assaulting column, which 
still advanced, as it had started, in four heavy lines. 

"But thirty paces now separated the contending forces, 
and neither exhibited signs of wavering. The Confederates 
were losing ten to one of the Federals ; the latter, unlike the 
former, delivering their fire from a halt, and with deliberate 
aim. 

" When within twenty paces of the Federal troops, the 
fire of whose guns remained unabated, the Confederates, 
whose ranks had been terribly thinned, and who, from their 
long and rapid march across a heavy and jielding soil, added 
to then* constant yelling since the opening of the attack, were 
much exhausted, now exhibited signs of faltering. The 
Federals, who but a moment before regarded victory as most 
doubtful, observed this hesitation, and gave forth cheers of 
exultation. Hancock, who had been constantly seen where 
the danger was most imminent, and who, with one exception, 
was the only mounted officer along the Federal line, saw that 
victory was within his grasp, and determined to resume the 
offensive. With that excessive politeness of manner which 



WINFIELD SCOTT HA^STCOCK. 203 

characterizes him when everything is being conducted accord- 
ing to his liking, Hancock, as if conducting guests to a ban- 
quet rather than fellow-beings to a life-and-death struggle, 
cried out in tones well-befitting a Stentor : — 

' Gentlemen^ charge with the bayonet.' 

' ' The order was responded to with a hearty cheer from the 
entire line, and immediately the men — no, the gentlemen — 
brought their ba^^onets down to the position of the charge, 
and moved forward to the encounter. The Confederates, 
already wavering, required but this last effort upon the part 
of their opponents to relinquish the contest. Not waiting to 
receive the charge, they began their retreat, which soon ter- 
minated in a rout. The Federals, less exhausted than their 
late assailants, were able to overtake and capture large num- 
bers of the Confederates. They also captured one battle-flag, 
being, it is believed, the first battle-flag captured from the 
enemy by the Army of the Potomac. One of the French 
princes serving on General McClellan's staff, the Due 
d'Orleans, arriving on the battle-field at this moment, was 
made the bearer of the captured colors to army headquar- 
ters." 

General Walker is altogether a different sort of man 
from Custer. He is scholarly, quiet, and exact — a 
complete contrast to the untamed genius whose red- 
silk neckerchief used to flame so inspiringly at the 
head of his troopers. But General Walker, even while 
giving a statistician's estimate of his old commander, 
shows that enthusiastic admiration burns in his breast 
as well. In continuation of what we have before 
quoted, General Walker says : — 

" General Hancock had all the instincts of a staff officer in 



204 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

regard to keeping up the discipline and the condition of his 
command. He might have been the inspector-general, for 
the care he exercised. Then he had a perfect passion for 
what is known in the army as ' Papers.' I remember this 
from a very livelj' experience. Oftentimes, when I had 
worked twelve or fourteen hours during the day, and was 
nearly read}' to drop, he would send for me, and for two 
hours longer he would keep me in his tent, going over a gi'eat 
mass of correspondence and orders. He had a love for all 
the details of the camp and of the march, and a capacity to 
receive and understand them. He was immensely particular, 
and a man who, generall}' speaking, paid apparently an un- 
necessary attention to nice points. Orders and letters must 
be written with the greatest punctilio and care, whether under 
a tree, in the rain, or in headquarters. He would do work 
that any other general would leave to his adjutant, giving a 
great deal of his time and personal attention to questions re- 
lating to regulations, to breaches of discipUne, and to the 
various reports, even though of a routine nature. When in 
battle he never issued commands from the rear, but was on 
the field in person. Even after he had given an order he 
would himself see that it was carried out. This was not 
always the pleasantest position for a subordinate officer ; but 
looking back now, I can see that Hancock's almost invariable 
success was due to this incessant wakefulness and vigilance. 
He knew what he wanted, and he knew that a single word 
misunderstood might cause disaster to his troops or make 
him lose a victor}'. He was not willing to run any risks." 

General Hancock w^as worshipped by the men of the 
Second Corps. He had come to the command of that 
corps with a record as one of the most brilliant and 
successful fighters in the army. The most inspiriting 
legends of the war embalmed his name. His presence 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 205 

brought confidence even in the most desperate ch'cuni- 
stances, and under his command the troops realized 
that they were guided by a wise and masterful hand. 

The wearers of the trefoil badge not only believed, 
they knew, that nothing could stand before them and 
Hancock, and a story which one of them tells about 
Gettysburg shows that they fully believed the enemy 
had the same appreciation of the invincibility of Han- 
cock's corps. This is the story: "When Pickett's 
division made its charge, the Confederates only ex- 
pected to meet raw troops. They had been told that 
the Army of the Potomac was not there, but the Union 
soldiers were merely Pennsylvania militia and recruits. 
Two Confederate generals led the charge, one named 
Barksdale, from JNIississippi ; and the other, whose 
name I forget, from Louisiana. Over the two lines of 
the front corps the enemy charged upon us and came 
up the ridge. The Louisiana general, the moment he 
saw our lines, recognized the ace of clubs on our caps, 
and shouted : ' My God, boys, we are lost ! Here is the 
Army of the Potomac ! ' The next instant he fell from 
his horse, shot through the heart. The other general 
was also shot not many feet away. He lived a few 
minutes, and, as he lay on the ground, Hancock went 
over to him, and, bending down, received the dying 
man's last message to his wife, as well as a gold watch, 
which, in his last moments, he asked Hancock to for- 
ward with the message. It was a scene which I will 
never forgetJ" 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



1= JL la T z ^7", 



THE STATESMAI^. 



CHAPTER I. 

Haucock's Character. — How it Developed under the laflnence of 
his Career. — Hia Inheritance of Patriotism. — A Man of tho People. 
— His Strong Purpose in Life. — The Discipline of Army Service. — 
Learning to Obey and then to Command. — His Administrative 
Ability. — Knowledge of Men and Things. — A Well-rounded 
Character befitting a Democratic Statesman. 

There now approached a period of General Han- 
cock's life in which he was to display another phase of 
that grand character which has given him rank among 
the foremost public men of the age, and which has 
secured him recognition by the great constitutional 
party of the country as the fittest of its sons to take in 
his hands the guidance of the Republic. It was a fur- 
ther development of the great gifts of mind and of 
heart with which the Creator had endowed him ; not a 
sudden or accidental phenomenon whose permanence 
could not be trusted, or a spasmodic or emotional im- 
pulse, aroused by the occasion, to vanish when the 
exciting cause should be removed. 

And here it may bo well to pause and review the 
growth and development of General Hancock's charac- 
ter, as shown in his public life, up to the time when his 
country, grateful for his valiant services in the hour of 
peril to the Republic on the bloody field of battle, 
souo-ht the benefit of his wisdom and his moral couraofe 
to aid in preserving the peace which he had conquered. 



210 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

We have seen how, in the life of Hancock, the boy 
gave promise of the man. He was a patriot by descent 
and by tradition. The blood of Revolutionary ances- 
tors flowed in his veins. He was born on historic 
ground, with the memories of the great struggle for 
independence and the rights of man clustering thick 
about the valleys and hills and rivers of his native 
country. And of these memories his ancestors had 
formed part. The story of the hard light of the poor 
colonists for freedom and for local self-government was 
his story ; the legacy left him by those of his name 
and his blood who had battled and sufiered by the side 
of Washington. 

Further than this, he was a son of the soil. Neither 
riches nor a great name had come to him by descent. 
The honors which his ancestors bore were those of a 
patriot yeomanry, ennobled by inteUigent labor and by 
an honorable performance of the duties of free citizens. 
He inherited an upright name, never tarnished by so 
much as a shade of falsehood or un worthiness ; a sound 
intellect, and a physical constitution well fitted to match 
it. The scion of the race of sturdy Penn^sylvania 
farmers was, as a boy, one of the best products of the 
land. 

His early home influences fostered a proper and 
symmetrical development of his character. He had a 
good father and mother. They were poor, but not 
penurious. For the education of their children, no 
efibrt and no sacrifice were too great. They struggled, 
with brave hearts and earnest souls, and conquered a 
place for themselves and for their boys in the world. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJ>fCOCK. 211 

Hancock was brought up amidst this earnest, whole- 
some, working life, in which labor was made cheerful, 
and a strong purpose moved every member of the little 
family to accomplish something for the common good. 
He learned to be helpful to others, to bear bravely what 
burdens came to his lot, to be true to himself whatever 
might happen, and to trust in God. 

The parents of Hancock seem to have bred in him an 
honorable ambition which directed his career very dis- 
tinctly ; and when he left home for the West Point 
Academy he took with him a lofty purpose which found 
expression in earnest devotion to preparation for his 
chosen profession. 

And then how eagerly he embraced the first oppor- 
tunity of putting to the test the power which, even as 
a young lieutenant, he felt within him. His impulse 
to action was irresistible. He saw a career before him, 
and the spirit within him urged him forward to enter 
upon it and fulfil his destiny. 

Hancock's character was such that whatever he put 
his hand to he must do it well, no matter what it cost 
him in labor or pain. As a youthful soldier in the 
Mexican war, he was eagerly first in the place of dan- 
ger. He was not only daring, but brave ; and the trait 
of persistence in what he knew to be his duty was 
strongly developed by this experience. 

Then, after a long interval, in which the youth grew 
to manhood and acquired a knowledge of men and of 
the ways of the world, came the test of the Rebellion. 

This found him on the western verge of the Union, 
amid a disloyal community, with scores of the brightest 



212 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

and bravest of his old comrades going over boldly to 
the support of secession. Did he hesitate ? Not for an 
instant. It was not even a choice that he made. It 
was a prompt utterance of his inbred belief, that this 
government of the people must be preserved, and that 
his talent, his strength, and his life belonged to the 
people to save his and their priceless inheritance. 

Hancock was essentialh^ and thoroughly a Democrat. 
It was his creed by inheritance, by education, and by 
the force of his instructed conscience. An "indestructi- 
ble union of indestructible States " was what he believed 
in. It was that for which his ancestors fought, that 
which he had sworn to preserve, and that which formed 
the basis of the great Kepul)lic. It was as a Democrat 
that he hastened to the preserv^ation of this Union, 
gave his best energies, and shed his blood in its preser- 
vation. 

In the war of the Union, Hancock developed those 
rare administrative powers which made him the model 
commander as well as the brave soldier. It was not 
alone his dashing personal valor which brought him so 
rapidly to high command. Others possessed this 
quality and yet never rose. It was his solid character, 
his true wisdom, which gave into his hands such vast 
responsibilities. 

In this hard school of war he showed that he pos- 
sessed a judgment of men and of means that was quick 
and accurate ; that he had fertility of resource and 
readiness in execution ; that he could rule men with 
justice as he could lead them with brilliant valor. 

And when it was necessary to stir the people to a 



WIXriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 213 

greater earnestness in filling up the depleted ranks of 
our volunteer army, it was Hancock who was chosen to 
visit Legislatures, to meet in consultation with mer- 
chants and business men, to organize public meetings, 
and to present to the loyal but weary North, in an 
effective manner, the necessities for further eifort. It 
was a mission as far removed as- possible from the work 
of leading troops to the assault of a salient, and proba- 
bly no general commander in the Union army could 
have succeeded as did Plancock. But here, as in every 
field to which he had been called in the performance of 
his duty, Hancock showed an ability which conquered 
success. 

He, so essentially a man of the j^eople, showed him- 
self in every station a ruler of the people by his native 
force, his wuse judgment, his close knowledge of men 
and of things. 

Up to the point to which we have now followed his 
course, we have seen his character develop in strength 
and power, not merely as a brilliant soldier, or as a 
self-sacrificing patriot, but as a strong man and a wise 
administrator. He was soon to be called to duties 
which should test his statesmanship in the sharpest 
way, and prove whether his belief in the principles on 
which our Republic is founded was intelligent and sub- 
stantial, or misty and unstable. How nobly he proved 
himself, the records of the Republic tell. 



214 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTEK n. 

Assassination of President Lincoln. — Arrest and Trial of the Con- 
spirators. — Execution of Mrs. Surratt. — Charges of Cruelty 
against General Hancock. — Mrs. Surratt's Counsel makes a State- 
ment. — Also her Spiritual Adviser. — General Hancock's Tender- 
ness toward the Unfortunate Woman and her Daughter. — He 
posts Couriers to Carry a Pardon, — His Grief and Anxiety. 

Before General Hancock was called upon to assume 
those administrative duties whose performance has 
given him world-wide fame as a civil executive, he had 
to pass through an ordeal which tested his powers and 
proved his strength of character under the most trying 
circumstances, and in a period of the greatest excite- 
ment. 

His headquarters were still in the valley of the 
Shenandoah, when, on April 14, 1865, the conspiracy 
against the administration culminated in the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln, and the grievous wounding 
of Secretary Seward. The whole people were never 
before so shaken and unnerved, even when confronted 
with the severest disasters in the field, as on that dread- 
ful Friday in April, 1865. It seemed to most patriotic 
people as though the sun of liberty had gone into per- 
petual eclipse. A feeling of such universal fear and 
distrust pervaded the nation, that men looked in each 
other's faces with the despair which comes over the 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 215 

soul when nature experiences some awful cataclysm, 
and when there is no longer any hope for mankind. 

General Hancock was summoned at once to Wash- 
inolon. The extent of the conspiracy soon became 
known, and the measures taken by him to confront the 
secret peril were thorough, and contributed greatly to 
allay the terror. When Hancock's presence in Wash- 
ington was known over the country, as it soon was 
announced by telegraph, men said to each other, 
" Thank God, a man is in Washington now who can be 
trusted in any emergency." 

General Hancock remained in Washington, by order 
of President Johnson, during the days of the trial of 
the conspirators, and until after their execution.. He 
was military commander of the District, having under 
him about one hundred thousand men, with the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary of War only as his superiors. But 
with the trial of the prisoners, or with their watching and 
care, he had nothing to do. General Hartranft was the 
commander of the Arsenal in which they were confined, 
and he, as Provost-Marshal of the District, attended to 
the details of their imprisonment, and, after the sen- 
tence, carried out the execution of the death-penalty. 
General Hancock simply transmitted the order for the 
execution as it came to him from his superior officer, 
the President of the United States. 

There is little doubt entertained by unprejudiced 
men, now that the fever of excitement has passed away, 
that the execution of Mrs. Surratt was a murder under 
the forms of military law. But it is unjust to charge 
the blame for this horrible error upon Secretary Stan- 



216 LITE AND PUBLIC SEEVICES OF 

ton and his "Department of Justice," cruel and vin- 
dictive as the Secretary of War and his agents showed 
themselves on many occasions. For back of them 
there was a terrible popular cry for blood. The cir- 
cumstances were peculiar. For the first time in the 
history of the American Republic, assassination had 
been resorted to as a remedy for what were considered 
political wrongs ; and even the sober judgment of the 
people was shaken by this terrible development. Had 
Stanton been a different man, he might have restrained, 
or at least stood firm against, this loud clamor for 
victims, although it came with the most merciless 
reiteration from the party on whom he depended. 
It was, indeed, more the work of Stanton's party than 
of the revengeful Secretary himself. 

General Hancock's share in this tragedy was, as we 
have stated, only that of a spectator charged with 
maintaining the peace and order during the operations 
of the judicial and executive departments. And at this 
late day, it is only ignorance of history which can 
excuse such animadversions upon his course as have 
been made in some quarters. As a soldier, he had a 
peculiar abhorrence of the idea of executing the penalty 
of death upon a woman ; and while, of course, the 
whole business was entirely outside of his sphere, he 
yet did what he could, as military commander, to 
facilitate the communication of Mrs. Surratt with her 
counsel and friends, and interested himself by advice to 
her daughter, and by providing for the quick transmis- 
sion of a pardon or a reprieve, which, up to the last 
moment, he hoped might be granted. 



WnSTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 217 

The counsel of Mrs. Surratt, her spiritual advisers, 
and the protector of her iinfortiiate daughter, join in 
warm praise of General Hancock's sympathetic words 
and acts on this occasion ; but the whole story is so 
clearly and effectively set forth in recent correspond- 
ence, that we prefer to let the actors in that terrible 
drama speak for themselves. 

On the 17th of July, 1880, Hon. T. W. Bartley of 
\Yashington addressed a letter of inquiry to Hon. John 
W. Clampitt, of Illinois, the only surviving one of the 
counsel who defended Mrs. Surratt, asking his state- 
ment of the relations of General Hancock to the sad 
affair. Judge Clampitt promptly responded, under 
date of July 22. This correspondence is herewith 
given : — 

Washington, D. C, July 17, 1880. 
John W. Clampitt, Esq., Highland Park, Lake County, 111. : 

Dear Sir, — As j^ou were the counsel for Mrs. Mary E. Sur- 
ratt, on her trial before the Military Commission at Washington 
in 1865, and also were, as I am informed, present and cog- 
nizant of all that took place on the trial, and connected with 
the pi'oceedings up to the time of the execution, permit me to 
inquire and ask of you a candid statement of the facts, as to 
the relative position and conduct of Gen. W. S. Hancock 
from the time of the commencement of the trial until the 
execution ; also, as to alleged acts of uukiudness of the 
General towards Mrs. Surratt, her daughter Anna, and her 
spiritual adviser, on the morning or da}^ of the execution ; 
and whether thp responsibility for the organization of the 
Commission, and for the trial and execution rested entirely 
on and was assumed by the President and Secretary of War 
and the Judge-Advocate-General ; and whether, in the events 



218 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

■which took place connected therewith, General Hancock had 
any discretion or responsibility whatsoever. 

Your prompt repty hereto will be an additional act of yours 
in the cause of justice and truth. 

Very respectfully, etc. , 

T. W. Bartlet. 

Highland Park, Lake County, III., July 22, 1880. 
Hon. T. W. Bartley, Washington, D. C. : 

Mt Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 20th inst. is at hand, 
requesting from me, as I was counsel of that most unfortunate 
lady, Mrs. Mary E. Sun-att, a candid statement of the facts 
connected with her trial before the Military Commission at 
"Washington in 1865, and relating to the position and con- 
duct of Gen. W. S. Hancock from the time of the commence- 
ment of the trial until the execution ; also, to the alleged 
unkindness of General Hancock to Anna, the daughter of 
Mrs. Surratt, on the morning of the execution, and to her 
spiritual adviser ; and, further, whether the j-esponsibility for 
the organization of the Commission, and for the trial and 
execution, rested entirely on and were assumed by the 
President and his legal advisers ; and whether, as to those 
matters which took place, General Hancock had any discre- 
tion or responsibility whatsoever. I desire to state in reply, 
that it affords me great pleasui'e to accede to your request. 
I was counsel for the late Mrs. Surratt, and took a deep 
interest in her case, and the important facts connected with 
the trial, — and its principal actors, because known to me, — 
some of which bear du'ectly upon the inquiries contained in 
your letter. As the only sm'viving counsel of that deeply- 
wronged lady, and one who was present at each day of the 
prolonged trial, and conversant with all its details, my testi- 
mony may be of interest in the estabUshment of tnith and the 
furtherance of justice. 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 219 

The order originating the Military Commission which tried 
and condemned Mrs. Surratt, was from the President of the 
United States, and as follows, to wit : — 

"Executive Chamber, Washington City, May 1, 1865. 
" Whereas, The Attorney-General of the United States hath 
given his opinion that the persons implicated in the murder of 
the late President Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassina- 
tion of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an 
alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Gov- 
ernment at Washington City, and their aiders and abettors, are sub- 
ject to the jurisdiction of, and lawfully triable before a Military 
Commission; it is ordered: First, that the Assistant Adjutant- 
General detail nine competent military ofiicers to serve as a Com- 
mission for the trial of said pai"ties, and that the Judge-Advocate- 
General proceed to prefer charges against said parties for their 
alleged offences, and bring them to trial before said Military Com- 
mission. That said trial, or trials, be conducted by the said Judge- 
Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person, aided by such 
assistant and special judge-advocates as he may designate ; and that 
said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the ends 
of justice, the said Commission to sit without regard to hours. 
Second, that Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty 
as special Provost Marshal-General, for the purpose of said trial, 
and attendance upon said Commission, and the execution of Its 
mandates. Third, that the said Commission establish such order 
or rules of jjroceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay, and con- 
duce to the ends of public justice. 

(Signed) " Andrew Johnson." 

By special orders No. 211, from the War Department, 
through the oflSce of the Adjutant-General, a Military Com- 
mission was appointed to meet at Washington, on Monday, 
the eighth day of May, for the trial of David E. Harold, 
George A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlan, 
Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel 
A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as might be brought 



220 LIFE Am> PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

before it, charged with the murder of the late President 
Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the 
Secretary of State, William H. Seward, etc. 

The detail for the Militarj' Commission by the President 
was as follows : — 

Major-General David Hunter, U. S. Volunteers. 
" " Lewis Wallace, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet Major-General A. V. Kautz, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, U. S. Volunteers. 
" " Robert S. Foster, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet Brigadier-General Jas. A. Ekin, U. S. Volunteers. 
" " '• T. M. Harris, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet Colonel C. H. Tompkins, U. S. Arm}-. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Da\ad R. Clendenin, 8th 111. Cavalry. 

Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge- Advocate. 

John A. Bingham and Brevet Colonel H. L. Burnett 
appeared as Assistant Judge- Advocates. 

The tiial of the parties arraigned proceeded from day to 
da}' until its close, on the 30th of June, 1865, without fur- 
ther general or special orders affecting the personnel of the 
Commission, when the findings of the Commission were 
transmitted to the President of the United States, through 
the Secretary of War, for his approval. 

On the fifth day of July. 1865, the President approved the 
findings of the Commission and ordered the execution of 
Mrs. Surratt, Payne, Harold, and Atzerodt, in the following 
military order, transmitted through the Adjutant-General of 
the army, to wit : — 

""War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, ) 
" Washington, July 5, 1865. J 

"To Major-General W. S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, Com- 
manding the Middle Military Division, Washington, D. C : 
" Whereas, By the Military Commission appointed in paragrajjh 
4 special orders No. 211, dated War Department, Adjutant-Gen- 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 221 

eral's Office, Washington, May 6, 1865, and of which Major-Gen- 
eral David Hunter, United States Volunteers, was President, the 
following persons were tried, and after mature consideration of 
evidence adduced in their cases, were found and sentenced as 
hereinafter stated, as follows : — (Here follow the findings and 
sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G, A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne, and Mai-y E. Surratt ) 

" And whereas, the President of the United States has approved 
the foregoing sentences in the following order, to wit : — 

" Executive Mansion, July 5, 1865. 

" The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, 
Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt are herebj^ approved, and it is ordered 
that the sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by the proper military 
authority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on the seventh day 
of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a. m. and 2 o'clock p. m. of 
that day. 

(Signed) 

" Andkew Johnson, President." 

" Tlierefore, you are liereby commanded to cause the foregoing 
sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne, and Mary E. Surratt to be duly executed, in accoixlauce 
with the President's order. 

" By command of the President of the United States, 

" E. D. TowNSEND, Ass't Adjutant-General." 

From the official proceedings it will be observed that Gen- 
eral Hancock had nothing whatever to do with the organiza- 
tion of this Military Commission, nor was he in the slightest 
degree responsible for its organization, or the execution of 
its mandates ; nor did he possess any discretion in the matters 
relating thereto in an}^ degree whatsoever. 

It is true that the order of the President dii-ecting the exe- 
cution of the condemned parties was transmitted through the 
commandant of the military post to Major-General Hartranft, 
who had been designated by the President in Executive 
Order, dated May 1, 1865 (and above quoted), as a special 
Provost-Marshal for the purpose of said trial and attendance 



222 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ui3on said Commission and the execution of its mandates. It 
could not have been otherwise in featm-e and form, from the 
very nature of the militar}- organization of the government and 
its regulations and rules of procedure. General Hancock 
was in command of a geographical Military Division, com- 
prising several States, of which AVashington City, where his 
headquarters had been located by the President's order, was 
a part at the time Mrs. Surratt was sentenced to death. 
Being chief in command of that Military Division, the order 
of the President, thi'ough the War Department, had inev- 
itably to pass through him for transmission to the officer 
specially designated b}^ the same authority (Ex. Order, May 
1, 1865) to execute the mandates of the Commission that 
condemned Mrs. Surratt to death. 

It is a notable fact that Brevet Major-General Hartranft, 
and not Major-General Hancock, gave the verbal order of 
execution, after first reading, while standing on the platform 
beside the prisoners, the findings of the JMilitary Commission 
and the President's order of approval. 

I was an ej^e-witness to the execution, and assert these 
facts as beyond contradiction. In this General Hartranft 
performed his duty as the subordinate officer of the President 
from whom he had derived his powers as Special Provost- 
Marshal. The functions of General Hancock were purely 
ministerial as the " Commandant of the Military Post," etc., 
and not judicial, and he took no part in the execution. The 
act, which was performed in obedience to an order of the 
President, was not Hancock's act, but the act of his superior, 
having power to command. The President's order for the 
execution of Mrs. Surratt was not the order of Hancock, but 
was the President's order, and was made on the responsibil- 
it}^ of the President. The responsibilt}' of that order rested 
with Andrew Johnson, and his ill-advisers ; and Andrew 
Johnson is in his grave. 



WINTLELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 223 

It has been suggested that General Hancock should have 
resigned rather than have been the passive medium through 
which the order for execution was transmitted. There can 
be no weight in that suggestion. He was in command of the 
post, and had many and diversified duties and responsibil- 
ities to perform.; and no soldier, no citizen in fact, can 
properly avoid the performance of his duty by deserting the 
post to which that duty belongs, on account of the order of 
a superior over whom he has no control. 

No officer of the army has the right to resign his com- 
mission at his own pleasure, as every intelligent citizen 
knows. He may tender it, but it remains with the govern- 
ment to accept, when, where, and how it pleases. The 24th 
paragraph. Art. 5, of the United States Ai'my Regulations, 



" That any oflBcer, who, having tendered his resignation, shall, 
prior to due notice of the acceptance of the same by the proper 
authority, and without leave, quit his post, or proper duties, with 
the intent to remain permanently absent therefrom, shall be 
registered as a deserter, and punished as such." 

In this instance. General Hancock retained his post and 
performed his duty. 

As the counsel of Mrs. Surratt, I can testify of my own 
knowledge, that he was deeply moved in her behalf, and dis- 
tressed on her account. As to the point, whether, on the 
morning of the execution of Mrs. Surratt, he refused her the 
privilege of having the spiritual consolation of her religion, 
by denying her the assistance of a priest, this charge I know 
to be untrue, and it is effectually refuted by the testimony of 
the Rev. J. A. Walter, her spiritual adviser, which has come 
to my knowledge. This testimony is in the form of a letter 
addressed by Father Walter to General Hancock, dated 
Washington, Nov. 14, 1879, which has been published, in 



224 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

wliich he completely refutes the charge. I quote a portion of 
his letter as follows, to wit : — 

" I am at a loss how to account for this malicious report. I 
have always believed you to be too much of a Christian and gen- 
tleman to suppose for a moment that you would interfere with 
any one's religious feelings, much less in the case of this unfor- 
tunate lady for whom you showed much sympathy. Duty which 
1 owe to truth, and strict justice to you, compel me to deny these 
false charges, and exonerate you from all blame." 

In coiToboration of the foregoing explicit statement of 
Rev. J. A. Walter, I can add my own testimony establishing 
the fact of the presence of her spu'itual advisers ; as on the 
morning of the execution, and jusJt previous to that terrible 
event, when I came to bid her " Good-by," and pressed her 
hand in parting, it was in the presence of Fathers Walter and 
Wiget, whose holy serenity seemed to fill her cell with a 
heavenly light. 

As to the charge that General Hancock refused to obey 
the writ of habeas corpus, sued out by me as the counsel of 
Mrs. Sm-ratt before Judge Wylie, I know this to be ^;holly 
groundless. The records of the Coui't show that on the 
morning of the execution, upon proper application, at the 
early hour of two o'clock, Judge Wylie with characteristic 
firmness issued the writ of habeas corpus, ordering the Com- 
mandant of the Military District in which she was confined 
to produce the body of Mrs. Surratt in his Court at ten 
o'clock (the hour of execution ha^dng been named in the 
order as between ten a. m. and two o'clock v. m. of the 
same da}^) . This writ was by me handed to the Marshal of 
the District of Columbia, at a very earl}' hour in the moruiug. 
It is a fact sustained by the records of the Comt, that Gen- 
eral Hancock appeared in obedience to that summons before 
his Honor Judge Wylie, accompanied by the Attorney-Gen- 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 225 

eral of the United States, who, as the representative of the 
President, presented to Judge Wylie the following return, 
which was an executive order suspending the writ of habeas 
corpus, to wit : — 

" Executive Office, July 7, 1865, 11 o'clock, a. m. 
" To Major-General W. S. Hancock, Commanding, etc. : 

" I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby 
declai'e that the writ of habeas corpus has been heretofore sus- 
pended in such cases as this ; and I do hereby es])ecially suspend 
this writ, and direct that you proceed to execute the order hereto- 
fore given, upon the judgment of the Military Commission, and 
you will give this order in return to this writ. 

(Signed) " Andrew Johnson, President." 

It is thus seen how false is the charge that General Han- 
cock refused to obey the writ issued b}' Judge Wylie. The 
very reverse is the truth. Not only did he obey the writ, so 
far as he was permitted to do so, thus subordinating the 
military to the civil power of the government, but so prompt 
and cleax was the performance of his duty, in the estimation 
of the Court, that Judge Wylie complimented him on his ready 
obedience to the civil authority, and discharged him from the 
process because of his own inability to enforce the order of 
the Court. 

Judge W3iie acquiesced in the suspension of his writ by 
the President, and declined to go any further. General Han- 
cock's appearance before the Judge showed his respect for 
the civU process of the Court ; and it became his duty to pre- 
sent to the Judge the order of the President suspending the 
writ, and to know whether he would submit to or reject the 
suspension of the writ. If Judge Wylie had said that he 
would consider the question of validity of the order suspend- 
ing the wi'it when Mrs. Surratt was brought before hhn, and 
directed her to be brought into Court, General Hancock 



226 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

would doubtless have produced the body. But the Judge, 
complimenting the General for his respect for the civil 
authority, dismissed his proceedings here. There was not 
the slightest show of any disposition on the part of General 
Hancock to resist the civil process of the Court. The charge, 
therefore, that he refused to obe}^ the writ, is without the 
slightest foundation in truth. 

No one can at this time realize the extent of the popular frenzy 
and clamor for the execution of the parties condemned ; and 
Judge Wylie showed great judicial integrity in awarding the writ 
at all under the cii'cumstances. Had the order of the Court ex- 
tended further, and Judge W^lie insisted upon the produc- 
tion before him of the body of Mrs. Surratt notwithstanding 
the order of the President, General Hancock might then have 
been chargeable with disobe3ing the process, had he refused ; 
but no such further order was made, and General Hancock 
was dismissed by the Court from the process. What else could 
he have done ? While he acted under the orders of the Presi- 
dent, he submitted to and showed due respect for the judicial 
authorit}'. 

The question asked in newspaper discussions, why General 
Hancock was present at the Arsenal on the morning of the 
execution, is easily answered. The application for a pardon 
for Mrs. Surratt was expected to to be renewed that morning, 
and that on his own suggestion ; and he deemed it proper to 
be at a convenient place to afford his aid in case of a pardon. 

I was myself on the ground and deeply interested in all that 
occurred at the time, and I know the fact that General Han- 
cock afforded to Mrs. Surratt every kindness in his power, 
and was anxious that she should be spared by a pardon, and 
he hoped for it up to the very last. And when Miss Anna 
Sm-ratt called upon him at his hotel early on the morning of 
the execution, and asked him what she could do to save the 
life of her mother, he replied, " that there was but one thing 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 227 

remaining for her to do, and that was to go to the President, 
throw herself on her knees before him and beg for the hfe of 
her mother." She did not ask General Hancock to accom- 
pany her to the President, nor could it have been expected, 
as that would be improper in him. And it was unnecessary, 
as her protector, Mr. Brophy, was with her. It has been 
stated that Miss Surratt thought his manner cold. His 
language to her certainly should convey any other idea. He 
was at that moment in a state of great perplexity as to the 
disposition of the writ of habeas corpus which had been served 
upon him, and suspended b}^ the President, and he had but 
little time to make answer and return the same. To this fact 
may be ascribed his serious manner, taken for coldness. 

The facts show that so deeply was General Hancock moved 
in the matter, that his feelings led him to believe it possible 
for the President to relent at the last moment ; and should the 
President so act, that the reprieve might not arrive too late, 
but be borne swiftl}^ on its mission of mercy. General Hancock 
had couriers stationed at points from the White House to the 
Arsenal, in order that if a pardon or respite should be issued 
by the President, at the last moment, it should reach its des- 
tination promptly and before the execution. This is the evi- 
dence of Gen. W. G. Mitchell, Chief of General Hancock's 
staff. 

This evidence is corroborated by the sworn testimony of 
Mr. John P. Brophy, now at St. Louis College, N. Y., and 
at that time a resident of Washington City. Mr. Brophy was 
a friend of the family, and after the imprisonment of the 
mother he befriended the daughter, Anna. On the morning 
of the execution he met her at the Executive Mansion in the 
hope of seeing the President, whither she had gone at the sug- 
gestion of General Hancock to beg the life of her mother. 
Mr. Brophy, who did aU in his power to befriend the hapless 
girl and aid the mother in her sorrowful condition, and who 



228 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

is a gentleman of high character, testifies, under oath, as to 
the hmnanity displayed by General Hancock towards the un- 
ibrtunate mother and daughter, on the morning of the execu- 
tion. The following are extracts from his sworn statement : — 

"On our way from the White House to the Ai'senal, I 
noticed mounted soldiers at intervals along the route." These 
were the com'iers, stationed by order of General Hancock, 
to conve}^ to him an}^ notice of reprieve from the President. 
At the Arsenal gate, he, accompanying Anna Surratt to bid 
her mother farewell, met General Hancock, who spoke to 
Anna, and, in a voice of subdued sadness, told her that he 
feared there was no hope of Executive clemenc3^ He in- 
formed Mr. Brophy that he had, however, stationed mounted 
men all along the line to the White House for the pm'pose of 
hastening the tidings should the President at the last moment 
relent and grant a reprieve for Mrs. Surratt. He also stated 
to Mr. Brophy that, should a reprieve be granted by the 
President, it might be directed to him as Commandant of the 
Department, and that he woidd be at the Arsenal tiU the last 
moment to give effect to the same should it arrive. 

Mr. Brophy further states that he is "impelled by a sense 
of duty to add his testimony to others in vindication of one 
who has been most unjustly assailed for alleged misconduct 
of which no brave man could possibly be guilty. That he is 
not a politician, but loves justice, and feels that he has done 
an act of simple justice to as knightly a warrior as ever 
' saluted with his spotless sword the sacred majesty of the 
law.'" 

And now, my dear Sir, I believe I have covered all the 
points of your inquiry in as brief and candid a manner as 
the importance and gravity of the subject demand. 

There are many facts connected with the trial and execu- 
tion which I have omitted as not within the scope of your 
inquiry. This much, however, is fully established : that 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 229 

General Hancock was in no wise responsible for the organi- 
zation of the Military Commission that condemned Mrs. Sur- 
ratt to death ; that her trial and execution rested entirely on 
the will and determination of the President and his consti- 
tutional advisers ; and that General Hancock in all matters 
pertaining to the same had no discretion or responsibility 
whatsoever, nor could he, from his official position, have in- 
fluenced or controlled them in the sUghtest degree. He never 
attended the sessions of the Commission, but Avas busily 
engaged in the diversified and extensive cares of the mihtary 
command, which requked his entire time and attention. As 
I attended the Commission every day of the trial, I know 
that he was never seen about the rooms of the Commission. 
General Hartranft attended on the Commission daily, and 
this he did as special Provost Marshal, so as to be under the 
immediate du-ection of the President and Secretary of War, 
instead of the Mihtary Commandant of the Post. 

In conclusion, permit a single reflection. The trial and 
execution spoken of were demanded at the time by the whole 
Republican party ; the intensity of the public feeling and the 
infuriated demand for the execution of the condemned parties 
cannot now be realized ; and President Johnson, Secretary 
Stanton, and Judge- Advocate-General Holt, who had the 
entire control of the matter, were acting under the dictates 
of that political party, and simply canying out its imperative 
demaads- How humihating to the intellect of the country 

e reflection that the same pohtical party that had the entire 
responsibility for the atrocious murder of that innocent 
woman, should now, for mere pohtical effect, attempt falsely 
and most wrongfully to injure a brave soldier, who so often 
perilled his life to save the Union, by charging upon him 
misconduct for having in some way participated in that act 
which that whole party demanded and approved at the time ! 

For standing by Mrs. Surratt in her terrible ordeal. I my^ 



230 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

self felt the malignity and vengeance of that political party 
heaped upon my own head for the humble part I took ; and, 
now, the attempt of these politiciaus falsely and unjustly to 
traduce General Hancock for a responsibility he never had, 
shows the utmost depravity of human nature. While their 
own hands are reelring with the blood of an innocent woman, 
which they had demanded with fiendish mahgnity, they seek 
to defame, for base purposes, one of the bravest heroes of the 
war, by the attempts to falsely implicate him in the infamy of 
their own crime. 

Kespectfully yours, 

John W. Clampitt. 

Nothing needs to be added to this very comprehen- 
sive and detailed statement of Judge Clampitt. It 
shows not only General Hancock's kindness of heart 
and his unflinching performance of duty, but it illus- 
trates his reverence for and loyalty to the civil power. 
Even amid such excitement as prevailed at that time, 
he recognized the supremacy of law, and yielded to the 
representatives of law his prompt obedience. His 
course during this trying ordeal is a credit alike to his 
heart and his conscience. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 231 



CHAPTER III. 

Hancock again at the West. — Ho is Called back to take Command of 
the Fifth Military District. — The Stormy Condition of Politics at 
this Time. — Sketch of the Progress of Eeconstruction. — The Quar- 
i-el between the Executive and Congress. — Military Rule Triumph- 
ant. — The South Divided up into Satrapies. — Sheridan Eemoved, 
and Hancock Called to take his Place. 

The hour was now approaching when General Han- 
cock would be called upon to display, under circum- 
stances of peculiar difficulty and importance, the 
qualities of true statesmanship ; when the cause of pop- 
ular liberty and free government was to find in him the 
same dauntless defender that the cause of the Union 
had found. 

Until the 10th of August, 1866, General Hancock 
remained in command of the Middle Department. 
Then he was transferred to the Department of the 
Missouri, taking command there, August 20. Here he 
displayed executive qualities involving nice tact and 
discrimination in settling complications arising between 
the returned Confederates and the State troops. Here, 
also, in March, 1867, he commanded an expedition 
against hostile Indians in Kansas and Colorado. Dur- 
ing the same period he also served on several import- 
ant army boards. He was then appointed by President 
Johnson to succeed General Sheridan in command of 
the Fifth Military District. 

Before giving the history of General Hancock's 



232 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

administration in this department, it is necessary to 
review the condition of afiairs in the South and at 
Washington at that time. 

The great question which then confronted the victo- 
rious North was that of the reconstruction of the 
Union. The Southern armies had surrendered and the 
Southern States were still unreconstructed territories 
under military government. It was apparent to all 
who had in view the welfare of the country, that the 
sooner these revolted States could resume their former 
loyal relations to the general government, the sooner 
would the ravages of war be obliterated, and prosperity 
to the whole country return. Various conflicting inter- 
ests, mainly political, but some of them arising in the 
minds of disinterested men, through fear of the conse- 
quences of too sudden restoration of the Southern 
States to participation in the Federal power, con- 
tributed to delay and tended to a lengthened probation. 

Under these conflicting influences, reconstruction 
progressed slowly. By the summer of 1865, however, 
all the lately insurgent States had governments of 
some sort that were recoirnized at Washincfton, and the 
impression prevailed that, under the policy of Presi- 
dent Johnson, they would soon resume their proper 
places as loyal members of the Union. Before the 
meeting of the Thirty-ninth Congress, each of the 
States in which provisional governments had been 
established had elected and inaugurated a permanent 
government displacing the provisional appointments. 
In all cases the ordinance of secession was annulled or 
repealed by the State convention, slavery was forever 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 233 

prohibited, the Confederate debt" was repudiated, and 
the constitutional amendment adopted. Further than 
this, the laws of the old code restricting the civil rights 
of the negroes were repealed. 

It would certainly seem that States which had par- 
ticipated, as States, in such a high office as the amend- 
ment of the Constitution of the United States, needed 
no further recognition of their existence on an equality 
as to powers with the rest ; but such was not the view 
taken by those who controlled the legislation of Con- 
gress. Bitter antagonism was immediately aroused 
against President Johnson because of his efforts to 
bring back the rebellious States without subjecting 
them to the dangerous and destructive operation of a 
government through Congressional enactment. In 
December, 1865, the President had, in answer to a 
resolution of the Senate callino- for information regfard- 
ing the condition of the Southern States, replied that 
the rebellion had been suppressed, the United States 
courts restored, post-offices established, and steps taken 
to put in operation the revenue laws. The late Con- 
federate States, he said, had reorganized their govern- 
ments and were yielding obedience to the laws and 
government of the United States with more Avillingness 
and greater promptitude than under the circumstances 
could reasonably have been anticipated ; and in nearly 
all the States measures had either been adopted or were 
then pending, to confer upon freedmen the rights and 
privileges essential to their comfort, protection, and 
security. "The people," he said, "throughout the 
entire South, evinced a laudable desire to renew their 



234 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

allegiance to the government, and to repair the devas- 
tations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to 
peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that 
their actions will conform to their professions, and that, 
in acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, their loyalty will be 
unreservedly given to the government whose leniency 
they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose fostering care 
will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. 
From all the information in my possession, I am 
induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity 
is surely and rapidly merging into a sj^irit of nation- 
ality, and that representation, connected with a prop- 
erly adjusted system of taxation, will result in a 
harmonious restoration of the States to the National 
Union." The observations on which Pre sident John- 
son based this message to Congress were made by 
General Grant and General Schurz who had been sent 
on a tour through the South for this especial purpose. 

But Congress had a " Select Committee on Recon- 
struction," whose members quarrelled among them- 
selves, and naturally quarrelled with the President. As 
it had been no purpose of the politicians who really 
ruled the war department during the four years previous, 
to bring the war to a speedy close, now it formed no 
part of the desire of these men to see the wounds of 
the war closed up by a prompt reconstruction of the 
lately rebellious States. 

The first obstruction placed in the way of reconstruc- 
tion was unnecessary delay in the report of this select 
committee. What ought to have occupied them no 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 235 

more than a fortnight was made to consume six months ; 
and when the plan of reconstruction was at last sub- 
mitted, Jan. 22, 1866, it was only for the purpose of 
quarrelling still further over it. Meantime the Southern 
States were kept out of representation in Congress, 
although they had loyal men to send there, and one 
measure of aggravation was passed after another. The 
Freedmen's Bureau had its scope and powers enlarged 
by Congress, until it became a monstrous political 
machine ; and then began the long contest between the 
Executive and Congress which ended in the attempt 
at impeachment. President Johnson very powerfully 
pctured the situation in his speech at Washington on the 
22d of February, 1866. "An attempt," he said, "is being 
made to concentrate all power in the hands of a few at the 
Federal head, and thereby bring about a consolidation of 
the Republic, which is equally objectionable with its 
dissolution. We find a power assumed and attempted 
to be exercised of a most extraordinary character. We 
see now that governments can be revolutionized with- 
out going into the battle-field, and sometimes the revo- 
lutions most distressing to a people are efiected without 
the shedding of blood ; that is, the substance of your 
government may be taken away, while there is held out 
to you the form and the shadow. We find that by an 
irresponsible central directory nearly all the powers of 
Congress are assumed, Avithout even consulting the 
legislative and executive departments of the government. 
. You have been struggling for four years to 
put down a rebellion. You contended at the beginning 
of that struggle that a State had not a right to go out. 



236 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

You said it had neither the right nor the power ; and it 
has been settled that the States had neither the right 
nor the power to go out of the Union. And when you 
determine by the executive, by the military, and by 
the public judgment that those States cannot have any 
right to go out, this committee turns around and as- 
sumes that they are out, and that they shall not 
come in." 

The conflict between the President, supported by the 
best and wisest and most patriotic minds in the coun- 
try, and a bitter, selfish, and cruel partisan majority in 
Congress, continued to gain in intensity ; and after the 
fall elections in 1866 showed a majority for the op- 
ponents of reconstruction a new departure was taken. 
The famous Military Bill was passed. This bill declared 
that no legal State governments existed in the lately 
rebellious States, and that in these States there was no 
adequate protection for life or property. These States 
were therefore distributed into military districts, and 
placed under military government. The first district 
comprised Virginia ; the second. North and South 
Carohna ; the third, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida ; 
the fourth, Mississippi and Arkansas ; the fifth, Louisi- 
ana and Texas. The President was to appoint a com- 
mander for each district, and to detail a sufficient 
military force in his supjDort. The duties of the com- 
manders were, "to protect all persons in their rights of 
person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, 
and violence, and to punish or cause to be punished all 
disturbers of the public peace and criminals." To this 
end they were authorized to either allow local civil tri- 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 237 

bunals to take jurisdiction of and try oflfenders, or, at 
their discretion, to organize military commissions for 
the trial of offenders, and this exercise of military 
authority should exclude interference on the part of the 
State government. The district commander was made 
an absolute despot, the only restraint put upon him 
being the requirement of the President's approval of any 
death sentence he might impose, before the execution 
could take place. 

It will thus be seen that it was within the power of 
the military commander to treat the inhabitants of a 
Southern State according to the requirements of a 
military code, and very many well-meaning people 
believed that such a government should be exercised in 
the States lately in rebellion, during the lives of the 
present generation, or until the men lately in arms 
against the Union had, by a long probation, brought 
forth fruits meet for repentance. On the other hand, 
it was within the power of the military commander to 
give full effect to the local laws and civil regulations, 
only using his military power where the reign of law 
and order had not re-established itself, or where the 
men, recently the owners of other of their now freed 
fellow-men, were disposed to exercise over the latter a 
power which no longer belonged to them. 

President Johnson, of course, vetoed this, bill, as he 
did all the partisan and obstructive legislation of Con- 
gress ; but it \vas passed over his veto. In his veto 
message he described the power given the military 
commander by this bill as " that of an absolute mon- 
arch, his mere will taking the place of all law ; it 



238 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

places at his free disposal all the lands and goods in 
his district, and he may distribute them to whom he 
pleases ; he may make a criminal code of his own, and 
he may make it as bloody as any recorded in history, 
or he may reserve the privilege of acting upon the im- 
pulse of his private humors in each case that occurs. 
It is plain that the authority here given to the military 
officer amounts to absolute despotism. But, to make 
it still more unendurable, the bill provides that it may 
be delegated to as many subordinates as he chooses to 
appoint ; for it declares that he shall ' punish or cause 
to be punished.' Such a power has not been wielded 
in England for more than five hundred years. It 
reduces the whole population of the ten States — all 
persons, of every color, sex, and condition, and every 
stranger within their limits — to the most abject and 
degrading slavery. No master ever had a control over 
his slaves so absolute as this bill gives to the military 
officers over both white and colored persons." 

But when the bill was passed in spite of these objec- 
tions, the President had no choice but to carry out its 
provisions. He therefore appointed Generals Schofield, 
Sickles, Pope, Ord, and Sheridan to be commanders of 
the hve districts in the order named. An attempt was 
made to render the powers conferred by this bill less 
despotic, through an opinion of the Attorney-General 
construing the act ; but Congress at once passed an 
" explanatory act " insisting upon the most radical con- 
struction of the law. Then the conflict became more 
bitter, and the President dismissed Secretary Stanton 
from his cabinet because of his hostility to the Execu- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 239 

tive policy, succeeding in forcing him out after an 
obstinate and indecent struggle on the Secretary's part. 
Then two of the district commanders, who had been 
most zealous in the use of the despotic power conferred 
upon them by Congress, were also removed. These 
were General Sickles, commanding the Second District, 
comprising North and South Carolina ; and General 
Sheridan, the ruler of the Fifth District, comprising 
Louisiana and Texas. 

General Sheridan lacked the calm judicial tempera- 
ment necessary in one holding such a place. He had 
not the self-poise required to maintain a clear and level 
head there. Moreover, he was very much of a parti- 
san in politics, and his fiery nature showed itself there 
as in the battle-field. It was a very poor choice that 
President Johnson made when he put Sheridan in com- 
mand of the Fifth District, and the event proved the 
mistake. Sheridan lost his temper and his head, ruled 
the district like an autocrat, rode rough-shod over all 
civil law, and before he had been in power a fortnight, 
had gone far to reduce his district to the condition of 
a satrapy. 

General Thomas was first chosen by the President to 
take the place of General Sheridan, but on his deciina- 
lion General Hancock was appointed. 



240 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER IV. 

Hancock takes Command of the Fifth Military District.: — His Recep- 
tion at Washington. — Speech at a Serenade. — The vast Poweis 
placed in his Hands. — Absolute Ruler of two great States. — His 
Opening Proclamation. — The Famous "Order No. 40." — Judge 
Black's Letter. — The Principles of American Liberty find their 
Advocate. 

It was under such peculiarly delicate and exciting 
conditions of public sentiment and of the governmental 
departments, that General Hancock was summoned to 
the service of his country in a capacity where the calm- 
est judgment, the wisest patriotism, and the most prac- 
tical experience of men and of affairs was needed. He 
proved equal to the task of carrying the burden of 
responsibility laid upon him. 

General Hancock was summoned to Washington by 
order of the President assigning him to the command 
of the Fifth Military District, Aug. 28, 18G7. The 
removal of Sheridan was strongly opposed by General 
Grant, who at that time had been taken in hand by the 
Radical Republicans and put in training for the Presi- 
dency as the candidate of the party which believed in 
the ascendancy of military over civil authority. But 
the high-handed proceedings of the military commander 
in the Fifth District, absolutely overriding and crushing 
out all civil authority, had created alarm among think- 
ing people who believed that the war had been fought 
to save the Union and not to set up a military despot- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 241 

ism; and they hastened to do honor to Hancock, in 
whose stanch principles and strict integrity they had 
the same confidence they had in his valor. 

They complimented him with a serenade on the 24th 
of September, prior to his departure for the South, at 
which he made one of those clear, straightforward, and 
manly speeches for which he is noted. Among other 
things he said ; — 

• ' I thank 3-011 for this testimony of your appreciation of 
my past services, and confidence in my abUity to perform my 
duty iu a new and different sphere. Educated as a soldier 
in the militar}'^ school of om* country, and on the fields of the 
Mexican war and American rebellion, I need not assure j'ou 
that my course as a District Commauder will be characterized 
by the same strict soldierly obedience to the law there taught 
me as a soldier. I know no other guide or higher duty. Mis- 
representation and misconstruction arising from the passions 
of the hour, and spread by those who do not know that devo- 
tion to duty has governed my actions in every trying hour, 
may meet me. But I fear them not. I ask then, citizens, 
that I may not be judged in advance, and that time may be 
permitted to develop m^^ actions. As a soldier I um to ad- 
minister the laws rather than discuss them. If I can admin- 
ister them in spirit with due charity to the governed and to 
the satisfaction of my country, I shall indeed be liappy in 
the consciousness of a duty performed." 

On the same occasion, Hon. Robert J. Walker ad- 
dressed the assemblage, referring in his remarks to the 
known character of General Hancock and what might 
be expected of him. He said : — 

"And now, fellow-citizens, General Hancock is entering 
upon a new career ; and although his new trust is military, 



242 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

still in point of name it has its civil duties, and imposes a 
task of the utmost difficulty in its proper fulfilment. He has 
truly said his duty is to carry out the laws of his country, 
and he has said wisely ; because a soldier of the Republic 
most truly defends a country when he defends the laws of 
that country ; and, fellow-citizens, he will not be a judge as 
to whether the law is wise and expedient, or as to whether it 
be otherwise. His duty is purely a ministerial duty — to 
cany out the laws as they are written. 

"The judicial power, according to the Constitution, is 
vested exclusively in the courts of the country. They alone 
can pass final adjudication upon the law and say whether it 
is constitutional or not ; but when a law is passed according 
to the forms prescribed in the Constitution, unless it be 
arrested by the decision of the judicial authorities, the execu- 
tive officer must and is sworn to execute it as one of the laws 
of the country. But, fellow-citizens, while I am sure that 
General Hancock will execute the laws in a true spirit, and 
according to the meaning that must be placed upon them, I 
am also sure that he will do it in a spirit of charity and 
kindness." 

With such pledges of devotion to the Constitution 
and the laws — welcome words in the ears of a public 
which had become too freely accustomed to have both 
derided as impotent in the presence of the military 
arm — General Plancock set out to assume command 
on the 29th of November. 

In the Fifth Military Department there had been 
some few disturbances, caused by the natural opposi- 
tion to the violent military rule of General Sheridan ; 
and these, highly exaggerated in the reports of the 
partisan press, which was even then under a sort of 



WINTIELD SCOTT SLAJs^COCK. 243 

surveillance, had greatly excited the Northern people. 
General Hancock's predecessor had not hesitated to 
make the military arm felt superior to the civil law, 
and to construe the power given him by the Act of 
Reconstruction as absolute and irresponsible. 

It is safe to say that almost any civil governor, not 
to say military man, finding himself clothed with such 
authority and backed up with ample forces, would have 
treated the unreconstructed and unrepentant rebels 
with the rigor which was expected of him by the party 
majority in Congress. 

That such was not the course of General Hancock is 
the crowning credit of his life. It is no secret that he 
did not relish, much less covet, this command. His 
reputation as a soldier and a patriot was unsurpassed. 
He had the gratitude of all classes of Union men for 
his great services in the field, and it was believed that 
the Southern people would respect and obey his orders 
as they would those given by few others of the men 
who had subdued them. At the same time it was 
expected that so stern and unyielding a disciplinarian 
as Hancock, who always' saw his orders carried out at 
the greatest personal exposure of himself, would brook 
no disorder, but Avould rule Louisiana and Texas with 
a stern and steady hand. 

General Hancock obeyed his orders, and assumed 
command of the Fifth Military District. His first 
official act was to inform the people of Louisiana and 
Texas that he had come to be their Governor under the 
Eeconstruction Act, and to let them know how he pro- 
posed to rule over them. He issued his celebrated 



244 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

^'General Orders No. 40/' dated the 29th day of 
November, 1867. 

Probably no more astonished and delighted people 
coidd be found than the people of Louisiana and Texas 
when the purport of that order came to be understood. 
They expected to have, what they had had before, a 
military dictator. They expected to be governed hy 
" orders" instead of laws, and to live under a military 
despotism, instead of governing themselves by their 
own civil regulations. 

General Hancock informed them that he took com- 
mand in accordance with the orders he had received 
from the Headquarters of the Army, but that he did 
not propose to rule them by military orders at all. He 
congratulated the people of the South- West that peace 
and quiet reigned among them. To best preserve that 
state of things he proposed to let the civil authorities 
execute the civil laws. War he regarded as only nec- 
essary to destroy opposition to lawful authority ; but 
when peace was established and when the civil authori- 
ties were ready and willing to perform their duties, the 
military power should cease to lead and the civil ad- 
ministration should resume its natural and rightful con- 
ditions. He declared himself solemnly impressed with 
the belief that the great principles of American liberty 
were the lawful inheritance of the whole people, and 
should forever continue to be. He declared that the 
right of trial by jury, habeas corpus, liberty of the 
press, freedom of speech, the natural rights of person 
and of property, should be preserved. He believed 
that free institutions, being essential to the prosperity 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 245 

and happiness of the people, were themselves the 
strongest inducements to peace and order. He de- 
clared that the civil authorities and tribunals should 
have the consideration of and jurisdiction over crimes 
and offences, and should be supported in the exercise 
of that jurisdiction. But while thus recognizing the 
rights of the people, he announced, with soldier-like 
directness and brevity, that he should suppress armed 
insurrection and forcible resistance to law by force of 
arms at once. 

The Order No. 40, issued at such a time and under 
such circumstances, is so admirably illustrative of Gen- 
eral Hancock's turn of mind, so sincere, and withal so 
judicious, that we present it here in full ; — 

General Orders No. 40. 

Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
Neav Orleans, La., Nov. 29, 1867. ) 

1. In accordance with General, Orders No. 81, Headquar- 
ters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, 
D. C, Aug. 27, 1867, Major-Geueral W. S. Hancock hereby 
assumes command of the Fifth Military District and of the 
Department composed of the States of Louisiana and Texas. 

2. The General Commanding is gratified to learn that 
peace and quiet reign in this department. It will be his pur- 
pose to preserve this condition of things. As a means to 
this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil author- 
ities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient 
under existipg circumstances. 

In war it is indispensable to repel force by force, and over- 
throw and destroy opposition to lawful authority. But when 
insurrectiouary force has been overthi-own and peace estab- 
lished, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to per- 



246 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

form their duties, the militar}'' power should cease to lead, 
and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful 
dominion. Solemnly impressed Avith these views, the Gen- 
eral announces that the great principles of American liberty 
are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever should 
be. The right of trial by juiy, the habeas corpus, the liberty 
of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural rights of 
persons and the rights of property must be preserved. 

Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperit}^ 
and happiness of the people, alwaj^s furnish the strongest 
inducements to peace and order. Crimes and offences com- 
mitted in this district must be referred to the consideration 
and judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tri- 
bunals will be supported in their lawful jm'isdiction. 

Should there be violations of existing laws which are not 
inquired into by the civil magistrates, or should failures in the 
administration of justice bj' the courts be complained of, the 
cases will be reported to these headquarters, when such orders 
will be made as may be deemed necessary. 

While the General thus indicates his pm*pose to respect 
the liberties of the people, he wishes all to understand that 
armed insurrection, or forcible resistance to law, will be 
instant!}- suppressed by arms. 

By command of Maj.-Gen. W. S. Hancock. 
[Official.] 

This order, so novel in the history of the series of 
military usurpations known as reconstruction, was 
fla.shcd all over the land that night, and every news- 
paper printed it the next morning. It was received 
Avith delight by all who truly believed in the supremacy 
of the ideas on which our Republic is founded. It was 
hailed as the presage of a return from the anarchy of 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 247 

war to the safe rule of peaceful law. The policy of 
conciliation and restoration, which the lamented Presi- 
dent Lincoln inaugurated, had received a serious check 
when he fell by the hand of the assassin. Andrew 
Johnson had honestly attempted to carry out the ben- 
eficent scheme which his predecessor originated, but had 
failed through lack of those qualities of intellect and of 
heart which enabled Lincoln to restrain party antago- 
nism within limits, and to carry his point, and still 
retain the support of Congress and the confidence of 
the people. It was a dark day for constitutional gov- 
ernment ; and when, from among the military com- 
manders who had been endowed with arbitrary power, 
there appeared one who refused to exercise this power 
otherwise than in the support of and subordinate to civil 
law, the announcement came as a beam of sunlight 
throu<2:h the dark clouds that overhung the land. 

Judge Black, one of the ablest constitutional lawyers 
our country has produced, sat down and wrote as follows 
to General Hancock, when he read that now famous 
"Order No. 40 " in the morning papers : — 

Washington, Nov. 30, 1867. 

My Dear General : — This moment I read your admirable 
order. I am much engaged, but I canuot resist the tempta- 
tion to steal time enough from my cUents to tell you how 
grateful you have made me by your patriotic and noble be- 
havior. 

Yours is the first, most distinct, and most emphatic recog- 
nition which the principles of American liberty have received 
at the hands of any high officer in a Southern command. It 
has the very ring of the Revolutionary metal. Washington 



248 LIFE AJJD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

never said a thing in better taste or better time. It will 
prove to all men that "Peace has her victories not less 
renowned than those of war," 

I congratulate you, — not because it wiU make you the most 
popular man in America, for I dare say you care nothing 
about that, — but because it will give you, through all time, the 
solid reputation of a true patriot and a sincere lover of your 
countr}', its law and its government. This, added to 3'our 
brilliant achievements as a soldier, will leave you without a 
rival in the affections of all whose good-will is worth having, 
and gives you a place in history which your children will be 
proud of. 

This acknowledgment from me does not amount to much ; 
but I am expressing onh^ the feelings of millions, and 
expressing them feebly at that. 

With profound respect, 

Yours, etc., 

J. S. Black. 

IVIajor-General Hancock. 

It was under such auspices that General Hancock 
began his administration in Louisiana and Texas. His 
first word was to proclaim the rule of law. 



WDTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 249 



CHAPTER V. 

Reception of "General Order No. 40." — Civil Government Eesumea 
its Sway. — Hancock's Orders Develop the Capacity of the People 
for Local Self-Government. — The Laws to be Sustained by the 
Military Arm. — The Qualificatious of Jurors. — Disposition of 
Property by the Courts. — Sale of a School Section. — Registration 
of Voters. — Effect of General Hancock's Orders. 

It was on the basis of the principles enunciated in 
his " General Order No. 40," that General Hancock 
be^an and continued his administration in the Fifth 
Military District. These principles are immortal ; they 
lie at the very foundation of our system of free gov- 
ernment ; and it was with delighted wonder, that the 
people of Louisiana and Texas heard from the lips of 
one in whom they had expected to find a military 
satrap, these patriotic and statesmanlike sentiments : 
"The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the 
liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural 
rights of persons and the rights of property should be 
preserved." 

They looked for a Caesar, and they found in his stead 
the expounder and defender of the Constitutional laws 
of the fathers, and the exponent of the rights of the 
free men who speak the English tongue. 

The effect*on men so recently disbanded from armed 
rebellion, and now morose, soured, disappointed, and 
disposed to place obstacles in the way of any resump- 
tion of the old Federal relations, was electric. Louisi- 



250 LIFE AJSTD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ana and Texas, for the time-being, moved forward on 
ttie road to reconstruction with brisk eagerness, out- 
stripping their sisters ; and had General Hancock 
remained in command, the disorders which followed, 
the misrule and contention, culminating in actual 
anarchy, and rendering Louisiana at last a fit instru- 
ment for the perpetration of a great crime, would not 
have taken place. 

Witli admirable tact, and a keen sense of justice to 
the laws of the country, as well as to the people of 
Louisiana and Texas, he reconciled the differences that 
had previously prevailed, and which had had their 
origin in the abominaljle carpet-bag governments that, 
since the close of the war, had l)lighted those States. 
Instead of an oppressor, the Louisianians and Texans 
found in him a governor inspired by motives of the 
purest patriotism and of the highest justice. 

The general order with which he opened his admin- 
istration was a. re relation to an oppressed, robbed, and 
humiliated people. There was everything in this order 
to produce a profound sense of gratitude in the hearts 
of those to whom it was addressed. Following it, 
came for awhile the blessings of peace and prosperity, 
and but for the fact that the administration at Wash- 
ington removed General Hancock from his sphere of 
justice and beneficent government, the period of mis- 
rule in Louisiana and Texas would have come to an 
end ten years ago. 

General Hancock maintained the purity and inde- 
pendence of the elections, refused to organize military 
commissions to take the place of judicial trials, and 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 251 

would permit no military interference with civil admin- 
istration. The mayor of New Orleans formally 
requested his interference by military order in certain 
proceedings against the corporation. General Han- 
cock declined, on the ground that his interference would 
be unconstitutional, and could only be exercised in an 
emergency which did not, in his opinion, then exist. 

He was requested hy the general commanding the 
District of Texas, to order a military commission for 
the trial of a certain offender. He declined, stating as 
his reasons, that, while the act passed by Congress "for 
the more efficient government of the rebel States" 
made it the duty of commanders of military districts 
to punish disturbers of the public peace and criminals, 
that power, from the nature of things, should only be 
exercised when the local civil tribunals were unable or 
unwilling to enforce the laws, a supposition which did 
not exist, a State government in subordination to the 
United States being then in the full exercise of its 
powers in Texas. 

General Hancock's predecessor had summarily, by 
military order, removed the clerk of a court, and had 
appointed another in his place. General Hancock 
revoked this order, on the ground that if there were 
any charges against the clerk so removed, the courts 
were competent to take action in the premises. 

His predecessor had rendered the administration of 
justice inefficient, by instituting certain qualifications 
for persons to be eligible to do jury duty, such qualifi- 
cation being made by military order. General Hancock 
revoked the order, announcing that he would not per- 



252 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

mit the civil authorities to be embarrassed by military 
interference. 

In December he issued an order prohibiting military 
interference with the elections, unless when necessary 
to keep the peace at the polls, as being contrary to law ; 
and he ordered that no soldiers be allowed to appear at 
any polling place, unless as citizens of the State, regis- 
tered voters, and for the purpose of voting ; but he 
ordered, further, that the commanders of posts act 
promptly in preserving the peace in case the civil 
authorities failed to do so. 

Men, interested in civil controversies, in great num- 
bers applied at the General's headquarters for interfer- 
ence, assuming on his part both the arbitrary powei 
to interfere and the willingness to do so. General 
Hancock, by general order, again announced that the 
administration of civil justice pertained only to the 
regular courts, and that the rights of the litigants did 
not depend on his views as to the merits of their cases. 

Having been apj)ealed to by the Governor of the 
State to remove from office the president and members 
of the police jury of the parish of Orleans, they being 
charged with appropriating public funds to their own 
use. General Hancock reiterated the principle that 
these were matters pertaining to the civil administra- 
tion, and should be solely dealt with by the courts. 

The acts of General Hancock's administration were 
simply the development of this fundamental idea of 
popular government : That the people must govern 
themselves through the laws made by their chosen 
representatives, and that the sole duty of the military 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 253 

arm was to prevent interference with the operation of 
these laws. 

This was, indeed, a great change from the policy 
which had prevailed ; but it was a wise change. In- 
stead of accustoming the people to the sight of an 
authority superior to law, and thus breeding a contempt 
for law and for all forms of civil government, General 
Hancock taught them that the law was supreme ; that 
it was competent to protect them ; and that it would 
be maintained in its supremacy by the full force of the 
United States army, if needed. 

Under the vicious system that had prevailed up to 
the time of his assumption of command in the Fifth 
District, the civil authority had been either utterly 
ignored or made a servile attendant on the military 
power. Hancock changed all this. He put away the 
power which was offered him, and proclaimed himself 
subject where he was commissioned to be autocrat. 
There has never been known a nobler sacrifice of ambi- 
tion to patriotism than that which General Hancock 
showed when he stripped himself of all the extraordi- 
nary powers conferred upon him, and elevated civil 
government to its proper place of supremacy, pledging 
himself to maintain its authority with his life, if 
necessary. Grand as were his sacrifices in the cause of 
the Union when assailed by arms, his record as the civil 
administrator at a time when free, popular government 
seemed about to pass away from the land, is brighter 
yet. 

The law under which he was acting as commander of 
the Fifth Military District allowed him, at his discre- 



254 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

tion, to assume all the authoritj'- of civil administration. 
He could make and unmake judges and courts ; could 
himself adjudicate cases of every description ; could 
be, in his own jjcrson, the absolute autocrat of the two 
States under his rule ; or he could sustain the civil 
authority, and permit a free, popular government to 
be maintained, in which the rights of all would be 
acknowledged. He preferred to relinquish power for 
himself, and to place it where it belonged. 

The orders by which he carried out this beneficent 
change show so strongly the clear judgment, the tine 
perception, and the absolutely unwavering conscien- 
tiousness of the General, that we append a few for the 
purpose of illustration. 

The people of Louisiana and Texas had been so long 
accustomed to look to the whim of the military com- 
mander for the settlement of all questions of law arising 
in the intercourse of man with man, and even in those 
larger matters in which municipal corporations were 
concerned, that they at once and continually besieged 
General Hancock wdth applications to settle this, that, 
and the other controversy, which belonged, not to the 
military, but to the civil branch of the government. 
Hancock invariably turned them over to the courts, 
with the information that w'hatever the law decided 
would be carried out, backed by all the force at his 
disposal. 

Upon his arrival at New Orleans, General Hancock 
found that distrust of the courts, and contempt for the 
civil administration of justice, was largely caused by 
the unwise and arbitrary regulations, established by his 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAI^COCK. 255 

predecessor, concerning the qualifications of jurors for 
service in the several courts. He therefore at once 
revoked the regulations, in the order from which we 
make the following extract, shoAving that, from the first, 
he comprehended the situation, and knew that relief 
was to be obtained only by establishing civil authority 
on a basis that would command respect : — 



Headquabters Fifth Military District, 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 5, 1867. 
Special Orders No. 203. 



2. The true and proper use of military power, besides 
defending the uatioual honor agaiust foreign nations, is to 
uphold the laws and civil government, and to secm-e to every 
person residing among us. tlio enjoyment of life, liberty, and 
property. It is accordingly made, by act of Congress, the 
duty of the commander of this district to protect all persons 
in those rights, to suppress disorder and violence, and to 
punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public 
peace and criminals. 

The Commanding General has been officially informed that 
the administration of justice, and especially of criminal jus- 
tice, in the courts, is clogged, if not entirely frustrated, by 
the enforcement of paragraph No. 2, of the military order 
numbered special orders 125, current series, from these 
headquarters, issued ou the 24th of August, A. D. 1867, 
relative to the qualifications of persons to be placed on the 
jury lists of the State of Louisiana. 

To determine who shall and who shall not be jurors, 
appertains to- the legislative power ; and until the laws in 
existence regulating this subject shall be amended or changed 
by that department of the civil government, which the con- 
stitutions of aU the States under our republican system vest 



256 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

with that power, it is deemed best to cany out the wUl of 
the people as expressed in the last legislative act upon this 
subject. 

The qualificatiou of a jiu'or, under the law, is a proper 
subject for the decision of the couils. The Commanding- 
General, in the discharge of the trust reposed in him, will 
maintain the just power of the judiciary, and is iinwilling to 
permit the civil authorities and laws to be embarrassed by 
mihtar}' interference ; and as it is an established fact that 
the administration of justice in the ordinary tribunals is 
greatly embarrassed by the operations of paragraph No. 2. 
special orders No. 125, curi'ent series, from these head- 
quarters, it is ordered that said paragraph, which relates to 
the qualifications of persons to be placed on the jur}' lists of 
the State of Louisiana, be, and the same is hereby revoked, 
and that the trial b}^ jur}' be, henceforth, regulated and con- 
trolled by the Constitution and civil laws, without regard 
to any military orders heretofore issued from these head- 
quarters. 

By command of Major-Genebax Hancock. 

[Official.] 

Neither would he, as so many of the military com- 
manders did, permit property and valuables to be 
placed in his hands, or in those of his subordinates, 
under circumstances where ordinarily the courts would 
assume control. His hands were always clean, and ho 
would tolerate no suspicion of dishonesty, and give no 
opportunity for it among those about him. So, on the 
16th of December, 1867, we find him issuing an order 
revoking one that his predecessor had made, and re- 
storing the estate of a citizen of New Orleans to the 



■WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 257 

control of the local tribunals, and ordering that the 
property be turned over "to the possession of the 
party entitled to the same by the order of court." 

As a further illustration of the matters which mili- 
tary governors had been accustomed to decide accord- 
ing to their humor at the moment, thus breeding in the 
people a distrust of popular government and a 
demoralizino- habit of reliance on the will of one man 
in power, there was the case of the sale of a school 
section in Avoyelles Parish, on which the people had 
voted, but which was sent to General Hancock for ap- 
proval or revocation. He replied, placing the whole 
matter in the hands of the citizens of that parish, just 
where the authority of right belonged. This is his 
decision on the question : — 

headauarters fifth military district,^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, S- 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 28, 1867. S 

Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Wood, Commanding District of Louisiana, New 
Orleans, La. : 

Colonel, — I am dii'ected b}- the Major-General Command- 
ing to acknowledge receipt of a letter from Nelson Dm-aud 
(forwarded by you) , stating that the treasurer of Avoyelles 
Parish, La., caused an election to be held to ascertain if the 
citizens of the towuship were in favor of selling a school 
section belonging to the parish, and requesting an opinion as 
to the legality of said election. 

In reply to said letter, I am directed by him to state that 
if the provision of the law were complied with in regard to 
advertisements, the manner of taking the sense of the inhab- 
itants, and legal voters only were admitted to take part, there 
seems to be no reason why the action should be considered a 
nullity. It was not, properly speaking, an election, but a. 



258 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

way prescribed by law of arriving at the will of the com- 
munity as regards the disposition to be made of certain 
school lands belonging to the parish. 

The previous authorization of the Major-General Com- 
manding is not considered necessary. But if the sense of 
the people was not dul}' regarded (on the previous occasion ) . 
as to the foregoing requh-ements, the matter should be again 
referred to them for a free and legal expression of their 
opinion. 

I am, Colonel, very respectfully, 

Yom" obedient servant, 

W. Gr. Mitchell, 
Bot. Lieut.-CoL, U. S. A.. Sec'yfor Civil Affairs. 

In the same way, when the Governor of Louisiana 
asked General Hancock to turn out of office the mem- 
bers of a police board, whom he accused of malfeasance 
in office, without any judicial investigation of the 
matter. General Hancock read him a courteous but 
emphatic lesson on the proper course for justice to take 
under a government of law, sending him the following 
communication : — 

Headquauters Fifth Military District,'^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 30, 1867. ) 

Ills Excellency B. F. Flanders, Governor of Louisiana : 

Governor, — I am directed b}' the Major-General Com- 
manding to acknowledge the receipt of yoiu- communication 
of the 11th inst., with papers and documents accompanying 
the same, charging the Police Jury, Parish of Orleans, right 
bank, with appropriating to their own use and benefit the 
public funds of said pai'ish, and with being personally' inter- 
ested in contracts let by them, and recommending the removal 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 259 

from office of the president and members of said Police Jury ; 
and, in repl}^, to state that these charges present a proper 
case for judicial investigation and determination ; and as it is 
evident to him that the courts of justice can afford adequate 
relief for the wrongs complained of, if proved to exist, the 
Major-General Commanding has concluded that it is not ad- 
visable to resort to the measures suggested in 3'our excellency's 
communication . 

I am, Governor, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.-CoL, U. S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 

Then there was the business of registration of voters, 
with which General Hancock's predecessor had inter- 
fered in an arbitrary manner, interpreting the laws 
after a fashion which gave opportunity for fraud and 
for oppression that had been turned eagerly to partisan 
advantage. He promptly revoked the orders, abdi- 
cated the autocratic throne assumed by his predeces- 
sor, and informed the Board of Registrars that, as 
they were given fall powers in the matter by act 
of Congress, he should hold them responsible for the 
proper and exact performance of their duties. In this 
way he removed another obstacle to local self-govern- 
ment. Following is the order : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
New Orleans, La., Jan. 11, 1868. \ 
General Orders No. 3. 

Printed ' ' Memoranda of disqualifications for the guidance 
of the Board of Registrars, under the Military BiU passed 
March 2, 1867, and the BiU supplementary thereto," and 
"Questions to be answered by persons proposing to regiS' 



260 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

te'r," were distributed from these headquarters in the month 
of May, 1867, to the members of the Boards of Registration, 
then in existence in the States of Louisiana and Texas, for 
the registration of "the male citizens of the United States" 
who are qualified to vote for delegates under the acts entitled 
' ' An act to provide for the more efficient government of the 
Rebel States." 

These ' ' Memoranda " and '• ' Questions " are as follows : — 
[The Memoranda, being length}', are omitted.] 
Grave differences of opinion exist among the best informed 
and most conscientious citizens of the United States, and the 
highest functionaries of the National Government, as to the 
proper construction to be given to the acts of Congress pre- 
scribing the qualifications entitling persons to be registered 
as voters, and to exercise the right of suffrage at the elec- 
tions to be holden under the act entitled " An act to provide 
for the more efficient government of fhe Rebel States " and 
the acts supplementar}'^ thereto. Such differences of opinion 
are necessary incidents to the imperfection of human language 
when employed in the work of legislation. 

Upon examining those acts, the Commanding General finds 
himself constrained to dissent from the construction given to 
them in the "Memoranda" referred to. This construction 
would of course necessarily exclude all officers holding offices 
created under special acts of the State Legislatures, includ- 
ing all officers of municipal corporations, and of institutions 
organized for the dispensation of charit}', under the authority 
of such special laws. Such a construction, in the opinion of 
the Major-General Commanding, has no support in the lan- 
guage of the acts of Congress passed on the 2d and the 23d 
of March, 1867, which were the only acts in existence when 
these "Memoranda" were distributed. Since that time, 
however, what was before, in the opinion of the Command- 
ing General, only an error of construction, would now bQ s^. 



WlNTIEiiD SCOTT HANCOCK. 261 

contravention of the law, as amended and defined in the act 
of July 19, 1867. 

The Major-General Commanding also dissents from various 
other points in the construction given to the disqualifsdng 
clauses of the acts in question, as shown by the "Memo- 
randa " referred to ; but he will add nothing further to what 
he has akeady said on the subject, because his individual 
opinions cannot rightfully have, and ought not to have, any 
iufluence upon the Boards of Registration in the discharge 
of the duties expressly imposed upon and intrusted to them 
by these acts of Congress as they now stand. The Boards 
of Registration are bodies created bj'^ law with certain lim- 
ited but well-defined judicial powers. It is made their 
especial duty "to ascertain, upon such facts as they can 
obtain, whether an}' person applying is entitled to be regis- 
tered" under the acts. Their decisions upon the cases of 
individual applicants are final as to the right, unless appeals 
are taken, in the proper form, and carried before competent 
superior authority for revision ; and, lHvC the members of 
ordinary courts engaged in the exercise of judicial func- 
tions, it is the bounden duty of the members of the Boards 
of Registration to decide upon the questions as to tlie right 
of any applicant, on the facts before them, and in obedience 
to the provisions of the law. 

Since the passage of the act of July 19, 18G7, it is not 
only the right, but the solemn duty of the members of these 
Boards, each for himself, and under the sanction of his oath 
of office, to interpret the provisions of the acts from which 
tlie authority of the Boards was derived, and to decide upon 
each case according to the best of his own judgment. 

The distribution ' of the above "Memoranda" was well 
calculated to produce the impression in the minds of the 
members of Boards of Registration, that they constituted 
rules prescribed to them for their government in the dis- 



262 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

charge of their official duties which they were required to 
obe}' ; and it seems certain from various communications of 
facts in relation to the mode of carrying out the registration, 
that they were so regarded by the members of the Boards, 
and that the}' not only influenced, but in point of fact, con- 
trolled the proceedings of the diflferent Boards. 

In consequence of this, and as the time for the revision of 
the registration in the State of Texas is now at hand, and 
the duty of making the revision will, it is probable, in a great 
degree be performed by persons who are members of the 
Boards of Registration, to which the "Memoranda" in ques- 
tion were distributed for their guidance, the Major-Geueral 
Commanding deems it of importance that the members of the 
Boards of Registration, and the people at large, should be 
informed that the "Memoranda" before referred to, dis- 
tributed from the headquarters of this Militar}' District, are 
null and of no effect, and are not now to be regarded by 
the Boards of Registration in making their decisions ; and 
that the members of the Boards are to look to the laws, and 
to the laws alone, for the rules which are to govern them in 
the discharge of the delicate and important duties imposed 
upon them. 

For this purpose, the}^ will be furnished with copies of the 
acts of Congress relating to this subject, and of the amend- 
ment (known as Article XIV.) to the Constitution of the 
United States. 

In case of qnestions arising as to the right of any indi- 
vidual to be registered, the person deeming himself aggrieved 
is entitled to his appeal from the decision of the Board, and 
the Boards are directed to make a full statement of the facts 
in such cases, and to forward the same to these headquarters 
without unnecessar}^ delay. 

By command of Major-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 263 

The beneficial efiect of these orders was seen at once 
in the increased respect paid the courts, in the greater 
steadiness of society and of business, and in the growth 
of a manly self-reliance among citizens. 



264 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER YI. 

General Hancock and the Carpet-Baggers. — He reads Governor Pease 
a Lecture on Constitutional Government. — His Refusal to Sup- 
plant the Courts by Military Commissions. — He will not Inter- 
fere with Civil Suits in the Courts. — Riparian Rights not to be 
Adjudicated upon by Courts-Martial. — "Arbitrary Power has uo 
Existence here." 

The governors of the Southern States, at this time, 
were of the sort known as carpet-baggers. They were, 
of course, intense partisans, and usually men of little 
or no honest principle. The plunder and ruin of so 
many Southern States attests the shameful Avork of 
these men, who were appointed to place and power for 
which they were notoriously unfit, as a reward for 
political service, and who at once proceeded to make 
the most of their opportunity for enriching themselves. 
They relied upon the support of the Federal troops in 
maintaining their control and in shielding them from 
the consequences of their brigandage. They had no 
idea of constitutional government, or, if they had, they 
deliberately and persistently acted in denial of such 
knowledge. Instead of leading the States which the}^ 
governed in the path of reconstruction toward a sound 
popular government, they used every endeavor to per- 
petuate military rule and to crush the authority of law 
under the might of arms. 

To a statesman like Hancock, such a monstrous 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 265 

•UTong was unendurable. Although not a politician, 
he knew more of the constitutional history of our coun- 
try than all of these creatures of party. His studies at 
West Point had grounded him in the fundamental prin- 
ciples of our system, and as a man he had added to this 
knowledge the teaching of a wide experience of and' 
acquaintance with the methods of popular government. 
He knew that in our Republic the people ruled them- 
selves, and he had fought and shed his blood to secure 
for them the riijht of self-o;overnment. Now he was 
brouo:ht into contact with men in office who demanded 
that the people should not govern themselves, but 
should be ruled by officials whom they did not choose, 
under military coercion ; and that this state of things 
should continue indefinitely. 

This perversion of power was most abhorrent to Han- 
cock, who was striving to reinstate the rule of laAV and 
to educate a community, demoralized by war, up to the 
point of local self-government again. 

Very naturally, his ideas soon clashed with those of 
the carpet-bag governors. They looked to him for 
arbitrary military interference over the head of the law 
and the courts ; he demanded that the law, and not his 
individual will, should be the ruling power, and insisted 
that the law should be obeyed. 

He very soon came into conflict with Governor Pease 
of Texas, as we have already stated, on the subject of 
the appomtment of military commissions ; and the let- 
ter in which he declares his position on this matter is 
so clear and comprehensive, that we give it here- 
with : — 



266 LIFE AND I'UBLIC 8EKVICES OF 



Headquaiiters Fifth Military District,") 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 28, 1S67. j 

His Excellency E. M. Pease, Governor of Texas : 

SiR^ — Brevet Maj.-Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding Dis- 
trict of Texas, in a communication dated Austin, Tex., 
Nov. 19, 1869, requests that a militar}' commission may be 
ordered '' for the ti'ial of one G. W, Wall and such other 
prisoners as ma}' be brought before it," and foi-wards in sup- 
port of the request, the following papers : 

1st. A printed account taken from a newspaper dated 
Uvalde, Oct. — , 1867 (contained in a letter of James H. 
Taylor, and in another from Dr. Ansell, U. S. Surgeon at 

Fort Inge) , of the miu-der of R. "W. Black, on the day 

of October, 1867. In this account it is stated Mr. Black 
was shot through the licart by G. W. "Wall " while lying on 
the counter at Mr. Thomas's store." 

2d. A letter of Judge G. H. Noonan to Governor Pease, 
dated Nov. 10, 1867, informing him that -'Wall, Thacker, 
and Pullian are in confinement in Uvalde County for murder." 
In this letter it is asked, ' ' Would it not be best to tiy them 
by military commission ? " 

3d. A letter from Governor Pease, dated "Executive ol 
Texas, Austin, Nov. 11, 1867," in which the Governor states 
that he received a telegram from Judge G. H. Noonan, an 
extract from which I transmit herewith. In the letter of the 
Governor the further statement is made that ' ' Uvalde County, 
where the prisoners are confined, is on the extreme western 
frontier of the State, and has only about one hundred voters 
in a territory of about nine hundred square miles," and he 
then adds, " It is not probable that they (meaning the prison- 
ers) can he kept in confinement long enough ever to be tried 
by the civil com'ts of that county ;" and expresses the opinion 
that they never " can be brought to trial unless it is done 



■WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 267 

before a military commissiou." And he therefore asks that a 
military commission be ordered for their trial. 

From an examination of the papers submitted to the Com- 
mander of the Fifth Military District, it does not appear that 
there is any indisposition or unwillingness on the part of the 
local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, and to try the 
prisoners in question ; and a suggestion made by the Gov- 
ernor that it is not probable the prisoners can be kept in 
confinement long enough to be tried by the civil courts (and 
which is apparently based on the fact that Uvalde County is 
a frontier county, and does not contain more than a hun- 
dred voters) , seems to be the only foundation on which the 
request for the creation of a military commission is based. 
Tins, in the opinion of the Commanding General, is not suffi- 
cient to justify him in the exercise of the extraordinary 
power vested in him by law ' ' to organize military commis- 
sions or tribunals " for the trial of persons charged with 
offences against the laws of a State. 

It is true that the third section of ' 'An act to provide for 
the more efficient government of the Rebel States," makes it 
the duty of the commanders of militar}^ districts "to punish, 
or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public peace and 
criminals ;" but the same section also declares that " to that 
end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, 
and to tr}' offenders." The further power given to him in 
the same section, " when in his judgment it may be neces- 
sary for the trial of offenders," to organize military commis- 
sions for that purpose, is an extraordinary power, and from 
its very nature should be exercised for the trial of offenders 
against the laws pf a State only in the extraordinary event 
that the local civil tribunals are unwilling or unable to enforce 
the laws against crime. 

At this time the country is in a state of profound peace. 
The State Government of Texas, organized in subordination 



268 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

to the authority of the Government of the United States, is in 
the full exercise of all its proper powers. The courts, dulj'' 
empowered to administer the laws, and to punish all offenders 
against those laws, are in existence. No unwillingness on 
the part of these courts is suggested to inquire into the offences 
with which the prisoners in question are charged, nor are any 
obstructions whatever in the way of enforcing the laws against 
them said to exist. Under such circumstances there is no 
good gi'ound for the exercise of the extraordinary power 
vested in the commander to organize a military commission 
for the trial of the persons named. 

It must be a matter of profound regret to all who value 
constitutional government, that there should be occasions in 
times of civil commotion, when the public good imperatively 
requu'es the intervention of the militar}' power for the repres- 
sion of disorders in the body politic, and for the punishment 
of offences against the existing laws of a country framed for 
the preservation of social order ; but that the intervention of 
this power should be called for, or even suggested, by civil 
magistrates, when the laws are no longer silent and civil 
magistrates are possessed, in their respective spheres, of all 
the powers necessary to give effect to the laws, excites the 
surprise of the commander of the Fifth Military District. 

In his view it is of evil example, and full of danger to the 
cause of freedom and good government, that the exercise of 
the militar}' power, through military tribunals created for the 
trial of offences against the civil law, should ever be permitted, 
when the ordinary powers of the existing State Governments 
are ample for the punishment of offenders, if those charged 
with the administration of the laws are faithful in the dis- 
charge of their duties. 

If the means at the disposal of the State authorities are 
insufficient to secure the confinement of the persons named in 
the communication of the Governor of the State of Texas to 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 269 

the General Commanding there, until they can be legally tried, 
on the fact being made known to him, the Commander of the 
district will supply the means to retain them in confinement, 
and the commanding officer of the troops in Texas is so 
authorized to act. If there are reasons in existence which 
justify an apprehension that the prisoners cannot be fairly 
tried in that count}^ let the proper civil officers have the 
" venue" changed for the trial, as provided for by the laws 
of Texas. 

In the opinion of the Commander of the Fifth Military Dis- 
trict, the existing government of the State of Texas possesses 
all the powers necessary for the proper and prompt trial of 
the prisoners in question in due course of law. 

If these powers are not exercised for that purpose, the fail- 
ure to exercise them can be attributed onlj- to the indolence 
or culpable inefficiency of the officers now charged with the 
execution and enforcement of the laws under the authority of 
the State Government ; and if there is such a failure, in the 
instance mentioned, on the part of those officers, to execute 
the laws, it will then become the dut}' of the commander to 
remove the officers who fail to discharge the duties imposed 
on them, and to replace them with others who will discharge 
them. 

Should these means fail, and it be found, on further expe- 
rience, that there are not a sufficient number of persons 
among the people now exercising political power in Texas, 
to supply the public with officers who will enforce the laws of 
the State, it will then become necessazy for the commander 
of the Fifth Military District to exercise the powers vested in 
hira by the acts of Congress under which he is appointed, 
for the purpose of vindicating the majesty of the law. But 
until such necessity is shown to exist, it is not the intention 
of the Commanding General to have recom-se to those powers ; 
and he deems the present a fitting occasion to make this 



270 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

known to the Governor of Texas, and through him to the 
people of the State at lai-ge. 

I am, sir, ver}^ respectfully. 

Your obedient sei-vaut, 

W. G. MiTCHF.LL, 

Bvt. Lieut-Col., U. S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 

So pressing were the requests that he should inter- 
terfere with his military authority in matters which 
belonged strictly to the courts, and in which individual 
judgment had no place, that General Hancock was 
compelled, early in his administration, to issue a gen- 
eral order explaining why such interference would not be 
permitted. The following order was promulgated : — 

Headquarteks Fifth Military District, ) 
New Orlkans, La., Jan. 1, 1868. \ 
General Orders No. 1. 

Applications have been made at these headquarters imply- 
ing the existence of an arbitrar}- authority in the Commanding 
General toucliing purelj' civil controversies. 

One petitioner solicits this action, another that, and each 
refers to some special consideration of gi*ace or favor which 
he supposes to exist, and which should influence this De- 
partment. 

The number of such applications and the waste of time they 
involve, make it necessary to declare that the administration 
of civil justice appertains to the regular courts. The rights 
of litigants do not depend on tlie views of the general — they 
are to be adjudged and settled according to the laws. Ai'bi- 
trar}' power, such as he has been urged to assume, has no ex- 
istence here. It is not found in the laws of Louisiana or of 
Texas — it cannot be derived from any act or acts of Con- 
gress — it is restrained b}^ a constitution and prohibited from 
action in many pai'ticulars. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, 271 

The Major-General Commanding takes occasion to repeat 
that, while disclaiming judicial functions in civil cases, he can 
suffer no forcible resistance to the execution of process of the 
com-ts. 

By command of Major-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 

To understand what sort of applications compelled 
the issuance of the above order, it is only necessary to 
mention that the mayor of New Orleans actually asked 
the Commanding General to exercise his military author- 
ity to stop suits against the city of New Orleans on its 
corporate notes ! The following is General Hancock's 
reply :— 

Headquaiiters Fifth Military District,^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, C 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 20, 1867. ) 

The Hon. E. Heath, Mayor of New Orleans : 

Sir, — In answer to your communication of the 30th ult., 
requesting his intervention in staying proceedings in suits 
against the city on its notes, the Major-General Commanding 
dhects me to respectfully submit his views to 3^ou on that 
subject as follows : — 

Such a pi'oceeding on his part would, in fact, be a stay-law 
in favor of the city of New Orleans, which, under the Con- 
stitution, could not be enacted by the Legislature of the 
State ; and, in his judgment, such a power ought to be exer- 
cised by him, if at all, only in a case of the most urgent 
necessity. 

That the notes referred to were issued originally in viola- 
tion of the charter of the city, cannot be denied ; but the 
illegal act has since been ratified by the Legislature. The 
Corporation is therefore bound to pay them ; and, even if a 
defence could be made on technical grounds, it would be dis- 



272 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

graceful for the city to avail itself of it. Why, then, should 
the creditors of the city be prevented from resorting to the 
means given them to enforce the obligation ? 

In support of your application, 3'ou state that the city is 
unable to pay its debts. This is, unfortuuatel}-, the case with 
most debtors ; and on that ground nearly all other debtors 
would be equally entitled to the same relief. 

The Supreme Court of this State has decided that taxes 
due a municipal corporation cannot be seized, under execu- 
tion, by a creditor of the corporatiou, nor is any other 
property' used for municipal purposes liable to seizure. If, 
therefore, a constable levies an execution on such property, 
he is a trespasser ; and the city has its remedy against him in 
the proper tribunal. 

It does not, therefore, seem to the Major-General Com- 
manding that there is an urgent necessity which would justify 
his interference in the manner required. Besides, the expe- 
diency of such a measure is more than questionable ; for, 
instead of reinstating the confidence of the public in city 
notes, it would probably destro}- it altogether. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 3^our obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut. -Col, U. S. A., Sec' u for Civil Affairs. 

And if further illustration is necessary to show to 
what extent this demoralizing policy of military inter- 
ference had been carried, and how necessary it was to 
stop it before all respect for the law" was destroyed, we 
present the following letter of General Hancock, which 
explains in itself the request, and gives the answer; — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District,' 
Office of Secretary fou Civil Affairs, 

New Okleans, La., Jau. 2, 1868. 

Henry Van Vleet, Esq., Chief Engineer : 

Sir, — In reply to your communication, requesting the 

Major-General Commanding to issue a certain order relative 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 273 

to the New Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad Com- 
pany, I am directed by him to state : — 

That the order asked for embraces questions of the most 
important and delicate nature, such as the exercise of the 
right of eminent domain, obstruction of navigable rivers or 
outlets, etc., and it appears to him very questionable whether 
he ought to deal with questions of that kind ; nor is it clear 
that any benefit could result to the company from such an 
order. 

So far as the State of Louisiana is concerned, there can be 
no difficulty in obtaining a decree of appropriation of the land 
which may be required for the enterprise, according to the 
existing laws, as the company has been regodarly incorporated 
under the general corporation act. Be this, however, as it 
ma}^ the question of power, which the company desires solved 
by the proposed order, belongs properly to the judiciary, and 
therefore the Major-General Commanding declines to take 
action in the matter. 

If you desire, the papers in this case, together with a copy 
of this letter, will be foi'warded to the Secretary of War. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.-CoL, U.S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 

In all the vastly perplexing duties of his civil admin- 
istration, General Hancock pursued the same calm, 
unwavering purpose ; on whatever side he was assailed 
with demands for the elevation of the military over the 
civil power, he ' consistently and convincingly showed 
that the civil authority must rule, and the military only 
support the laws and suppress violent opposition to 
them. 



274 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER Vn. 

Troops at the Polls. — Hancock's Famous Order. — Soldiers to Visit 
tbc Polls only to Vote. — Hancock Declines to use his Ti'oops for 
the Collection of Taxes. — He Instructs Governor Pease iu the Art 
of Law and of Civil Government. — The Usurjiations of the Freed- 
men's Bureau. — Hancock's Letter to General Howard on the Sub- 
ject. 

One of the most humiliating acts of the carpet-bag 
rulers of the Southern States was the policing of the 
polls with Federal bayonets at the time of election. It 
was done under the plea that violence and intimidation 
were feared. The natural effect, of course, was to 
inflame the passions of the people and induce violence 
where none was ever contemplated before. But the 
most emphatic proof of the insincerity of this plea 
is found in the fact that the entire civil government, in 
every department, was in the hands of the men who 
pretended to fear violence at the polls, and that in all 
places there was an army of occupation, ready to 
answer, at a moment's call, the demand for troops to 
support the police in case of trouble. 

It is unnecessary to recite the instances of gross 
fraud and perversion of the will of the people which 
occurred under this system. It was impossible that 
men of the character of those who then held the gov- 
ernment should conduct themselves honestly when they 
held not only the entire civil machinery of elections in 
their hands, but also controlled an armed force with 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 275 

which to exclude any or all citizens from the polls at 
their will. It is easil}' understood how, with these 
resources, they permitted none to vote except those 
who would vote as they wished. 

Every occurrence of this sort, of course, increased 
the bad feeling among the people, and naturally led to 
violence. It was the direct way in which to breed and 
foster hatred of the government whose representative 
was a bayonet, and at the same time to accustom the 
people to the sight of the degradation of the civil 
power below that of the military. 

One of General Hancock's early acts was to remove 
this unrej)ublican idea. Pie took the constitutional 
ground that the civil officers of the peace must alone have 
charge of the duty of preserving order at elections, 
unless, in the opinion of the civil authorities, violence 
prevailed to such an extent that it could not be quelled 
without the aid of the military. As in all his orders, 
he held that the military arm should be used only to 
sustain the civil authority, not to supersede it. Gen- 
eral Hancock's order on this subject is as follows : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 18, 1867. > 

Special Orders No. 213. 

EXTRACT. 

I. In compliance with the supplementary act of Congress 
of March 23, 18G7, notice is hereby given that an election 
will be held in the State of Texas on the tenth, eleventh, 
twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth days of February, 1868, 
to determine whether a convention shall be held, and for 
delegates thereto, "to form a constitution" for the State 
under said act. 



276 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

IX. Militarj' interference with elections, " unless it shall 
be necessary to keep the peace at the polls," is prohibited by 
law ; and no soldiers will be allowed to appear at any polling 
place, unless, as citizens of the State, the}' are registered as 
voters, and then only for the purpose of voting ; but the 
commanders of posts will bo prepared to- act promptly if the 
civil authorities fail to preserve the peace. 

X. The sheriff and other peace officers of each county are 
required to be present during the whole time the polls are 
kept open, and until the election is completed, and will be 
made respousible that there shall be no interference with 
judges of election, or other interruption of good order. 

As an additional measure to secure the purit}' of the elec- 
tion, each registrar or clerk is hereb}'^ clothed, during the 
election, with authority' to call upon the civil officers of the 
county to make arrests, and, in case of failure of the afore- 
said civil officers, are empowered to perform their duties 
during the election. They will make full report of such 
failures on the i)art of civil officers to the Commanding 
General, Fifth Military District, through the headquarters, 
District of Texas, fur orders in each case. 

By command of Majob-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 

The idea instilled into the minds of those appointed 
to civil rule in Louisiana and Texas seemed to be that 
the}'^ were to govern by military force. General Han- 
cock was constantly in receipt of requests from the 
carpet-baggers of various degrees of authoritj^, to 
undertake by military power the work which, under a 
proper scheme of government, would rest entirely with 
the civil arm. It was thus in the matter of troops at 



■\VINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 277 

the polls. The Governor wanted the military to take 
control to the exclusion of the proper civil authorities, 
because it suited his purpose better. So in the matter 
of the collection of taxes. Before there had been any 
attempt to collect the levy, an appeal for force was sent 
to General Hancock. He replied as follows : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District,) 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, C 

New Orleans, La., Jau. 15, 1868. ) 

H. Peralta, Esq., Auditor of Public Accounts, New Orleans, La. : 

Sir, — I am directed by the Major-General Commanding to 
acknowledge receipt of 3-0111* letter of the 13th inst., in which 
you state that the ' • taxes imposed by the Constitutional 
Convention cannot be collected through the ordinary process 
of collecting taxes in this State," and "refer the whole 
matter to him for his action ; " and, in reply, to state that the 
tax-collectors of the parishes of Orleans and Jefferson, in 
their report to you of the same date, say that "the tax- 
payers have generall}' refused to pay the tax." By reference 
to the ordinance of the convention, you will find " that the 
Auditor of Public Accounts of the State shall, as under 
existing laws in relation to the collection of taxes, superin- 
tend and control the collection of said tax of one mill per 
cent. , and shall give immediate notice and instructions to the 
difTerent sheriffs and tax-coUectors." 

It does not appear, from your statement, that any process 
for the collection of this tax has issued, or that any othei 
steps have been taken, except giving notice in the news- 
papers, and a demand to pay, which has been refused. No 
jesort has been made to those coercive means to enforce the 
payment of taxes pointed out by the laws of the State ; this 
it is your duty to direct the tax-collector to do. "When that 
is done (and forcible resistance should be made) , the Major- 



278 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

General Commanding will, upon it being reported to him, 
take prompt measures to vindicate the supremacy of the law. 
I am, sir, ver}' respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.-CoL, U. S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 

Even this did not satisfy them, and a subsequent 
inquiry was made of General Hancock as to what he 
would do in case the civil courts interfered with the 
tax-collectors in the discharge of their duties. General 
Hancock made this reply : — 

Headquakters Fifth Military District,^ 
Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La , Jan. 21, 1878. ) 

Hon. Wm. p. McMillan and Hon. M. Vidal, Special Committee: 

Gentlemen, — The Major-General Commanding directs me 
to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 1 7th inst. , 
and to state in reply that the second ordinance of the Con- 
stitutional Convention, adopted on the 4th of January, 1868, 
provides a new mode for the coUectiou of the tax, and 
imposes penalties on defaulting tax-payers. 

You request the Commanding General to state what his 
action would be, should the civil courts of Louisiana interfere 
with the collectors in the discharge of their duties. 

In this connection, the Commanding General deems it 
unnecessar}- to repeat what he has ah'ead}' stated in reply to 
a previous letter concerning his authority on this subject. 

It would be highl}' improper for him to anticipate any 
illegal interference of the courts in the matter. 

Whenever a case arises for the interposition of the powers 
vested in the Commanding General by the acts of Congress, 
he wiU promptly exercise them for the maintenance of law 
and order. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, j'our obedient servant, 

"W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. LietU.-CoL, U. S. A., Sec'yfor Civil Affairs. 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 279 

General Hancock, although not bred to the law or to 
politics, was doing a most excellent work in teaching 
these lawyers and politicians the rudiments as well as 
the details of civil administration. It can truthfully be 
said that few governors of States have ever had so 
many perplexing questions of law and of jurisdiction 
placed before them for decision as General Hancock was 
assailed with when he was given absolute power, for 
good or for evil, in the carpet-bag-ridden States of 
Louisiana and Texas. And in deciding these cases he 
showed a clearness of mind and a genius for adminis- 
tration which entitle him to a high place among execu- 
tive officers. If he w^as not born a statesman, he 
certainly developed into one. 

The contrast between Hancock and the general whom 
he w^as sent to supersede on the critical first day of the 
Gettysburg fight is clearly shown by the incidents 
which occurred about this time. General Howard was 
at the head of the Freedmen's Bureau ; and, as this 
Bureau was run almost exclusively as a party machine, 
there was inevitable conflict between its operations and 
the purposes of a commander who was acting for his 
country and not for party. Some friction having 
occurred in General Hancock's department, he addressed 
a letter to General Howard on the subject, which is 
given here for the reason that in it Hancock again states 
certain vital principles which it would have been well 
to inculcate in the minds of all district commanders 
at that time. 



280 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
New Orleans, La., Feb. 24 , 1868. S 

Major-General 0. O. Howard , Commissioner of Bureau Refugees, Freed- 
men, and Abandoned Lands, Washington D. C : 

General, — Eeferring to the report of Captain E. Collins, 
Seventeenth Infantry, sub-assistant commissioner of the Bu- 
reau refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, at Brenham, 
Tex., dated Dec. 31, 1867, and transmitted by you for my 
information, I have the honor to state that I do not under- 
stand how any orders of mine can be interpreted as interfer- 
ing with the proper execution of the law creating the Bureau. 
It is certainly not my intention that they should so interfere. 
Anything complained of in that letter, which could have law- 
fully been remedied by the exercise of military authorit}-, 
should have received the action of General Reynolds, who, 
being military commander, and also Assistant Commissioner 
for Texas, was the proper authority to apply the remedy, and 
to that end was vested with the necessary power. 

A copy of the report of Captain Collins had already been 
forwarded to me by General Reynolds before the receipt of 
your communication, and returned to him January 16th, with 
the following indorsement : ' ' Respectfully returned Brevet 
Maj.-Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding District of Texas. 
This paper seems to contain only vague and indefinite 
complaints, without specific action as to any particular cases. 
If Captain Collins has any special cases of the nature 
referred to in his communication, which require action at 
these headquarters, he can transmit them, and they will 
receive attention." 

No reply has been received to this ; a proof either of the 
non-existence of such special cases, or of neglect of duty on 
the part of Captain Collins in not reporting them. It is, and 
wiU be my pleasure as well as duty, to aid you and the oflS- 
cers and agents under 30ui- du'ection, in the proper execution 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 281 

of the law. I have just returned from a trip to Texas, 
Whilst there I passed through Brenham twice, and saw 
Captain Collins ; but neither from him nor from General Rey- 
nolds, did I hear anytJiing in regard to this subject, so far as 
I recollect. 

There are numerous abuses of authority on the part of 
certain agents of the Bureau in Texas, and General Reynolds 
is already investigating some of them. 

My intention is to confine the agents of the Bureau within 
their legitimate authority, so far as my power as district com- 
mander extends ; further than that, it is not my intention or 
desire to interfere with the Freedmen's Bureau. I can say, 
however, that had the district commander a superior control 
over the freedmen's affairs in the district, the Bureau would 
be as useful, and would work more harmoniously, and be 
more in favor with the people. At present there is a clash- 
ing of authority. I simply mention the facts without desir- 
ing any such control. 

The Reconstruction Acts charge district commanders with 
the duty of protecting all persons in their rights of person 
and propert}^ ; and to this end authorize them to allow local 
civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, and try offenders ; or if 
in their opinion necessary, to organize a military commission 
or tribunals for that purpose. 

They are thus given control over all criminal proceedings 
for violation of the statute laws of the States, and for such 
other offences as are not by law made triable by the United 
States courts. The Reconstruction Acts exempt no class of 
persons from their operation, and the duty of protecting all 
persons in their rights of person and property, of necessity 
invests district commanders with control over the agents of 
the Bureau, to the extent of at least enabling them to restrain 
tliese agents from any interference with, or disregard of their 
prerogatives as district commanders. 



282 LIFE AOT) PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The district commanders are made responsible for the pres- 
ervation of peace and the enforcement of the local laws 
■within their districts ; and they are the ones required to 
designate the tribunals before which those who break the 
peace and violate these laws shall be tried. 

Such being the fact, many of the agents of the Bureau 
seem not to be aware of it. In Texas, some are yet holding 
com"ts, tiying cases, imposing fines, taking fees for services, 
and arresting citizens for offences over which the Bureau is 
not intended b}' law to have jmisdiction. 

General Reynolds is aware of some of these cases, and is, 
as I have already mentioned, giving his attention to them. 

In Louisiana, this state of affairs exists to a less extent, if 
at all. 

I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. S. Hakcock, 
Major- General U. S. Army Commanding. 

Howard, it will be observed, had been eager in 
usurping authority which did not belong to his agents ; 
Hancock had, from the first, refused to assume the 
authority vested in him at his discretion, whenever the 
ci\dl government could perform the dut3^ The diifcr- 
ence is that between a government by the people, under 
laws of their own enactment, and a government of cen- 
tralized force, acting through agents irresponsible to 
the people. General Hancock now represents the same 
idea in the Presidential contest that he represented in 
1868 as commander of the Fifth Military District. 



VVLN FIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 283 



CHAPTER Vm. 

The Carpet-Baggore protest against Civil Govermnent.— Governor 
Pease's Open Letter. — General Hancock's Replj'. — The Soldier de- 
fends the Constitution and the Rights of the People against the Law- 
yer. — Congress attempts to get rid of Hancock. — A Bill which They 
dared not pass. — Grant made the Instrument of the Radicals. — 
He supersedes the President and revokes Hancock's Orders. — 
Hancock's Resignation. 

It was quite natural that the carpet-bag governors of 
Louisiana and Texas should dislike General Hancock's 
system. It deprived them of the arbitrary power which 
they had been accustomed to wield, and gave the people 
a chance to govern themselves in a quiet and decent 
way under the law. They saw their consequence and 
their opportunities for profit falling away from them, 
and they realized that, with returning prosperity, peace, 
and contentment, their occupation as governors would 
be gone. Hence they rebelled against Hancock's 
declaration that " the right of trial by jury, the habeas 
corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 
the natural rights of persons, and the rights of property 
should be preserved." 

Governor Pease of Texas was especially worried 
about the reign of law which General Hancock had intro- 
duced. This Pease had been appointed to his place 
under military rule, and he had himself ruled with 
recklessness and cruelty. Shortly after he came into 
office, all of the judges of the Supremo ( uurt of Texas, 



284 LITE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

five ill number, and twelve out of seventeen of the 
district judges, were arbitrarily removed from office ; 
and others, whom this functionary desired, were 
appointed in their places. In addition to this, the 
county officers in seventy-five out of the one hundred 
and twenty-eight counties were removed, and others 
a))pointed in their places. B}^ arbitrary order, none 
but persons capable of taking the test oath, and regis- 
tered as such, were allowed to serve as jurors. 

No people but one defeated and exhausted by a long 
and bloody war, would have endured such outrages. 
Such arbitrary acts, of themselves, would have been 
sufficient, under ordinary circumstances, to have de- 
luged any State in blood. But the oppressed ex-rebels 
proudly endured the w^rong in silence. 

This wrong, General Hancock, as soon as he took 
command, aimed to repair ; and his first step in this 
direction was the promulgation of the famous " General 
Order No. 40." To this order Governor Pease took 
exception, and sent to the press an open letter addressed 
to General Hancock, in which he criticised with great 
severity the action of the latter in issuing the order. 

He cited the act of Congress providing " for the 
more efficient government of the Southern States," 
which made the government of Texas provisional, and, 
as a part of the Fifth jNIilitary District, subject to mili- 
tary law. He affirmed that the President had put 
Hancock in command of a military force to protect the 
rights of property and person, suppress insurrection 
and violence, and to punish otfcnders either by military 
commissions or by the local civil tribunals, as his judg- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 285 

ment might seem best. He declared further that there 
were practically no local civil tribunals ; that it was not 
true, as was alleged in " Order No. 40," that there was 
no longer any organized resistance to the authority of 
the United States, but that, on the contrary, a large 
majority of the white population who participated in 
the late rebellion were embittered against the govern- 
ment, yielding only an unwilling obedience, having no 
affection, and but little respect, for the government. 
He declared that the people of Texas regarded the 
reconstruction legislation of Congress as unconstitu- 
tional, the provisional govern'nent a usurpation, and 
the emancipation of their slaves and their own disfran- 
chisement as insult and oppression. For this and simi- 
lar reasons. Governor Pease demanded that General 
Hancock set aside the local tribunals, and enforce 
penalties by military commissions. 

Here the spectacle was presented to the world of a 
civil executive demanding that military rule shall be 
established above the law of the Jand, and arguing the 
case against an old soldier who had staked even his 
military position on the issue that the law of the land 
shall prevail over the power which he himself wielded. 

But the soldier lost no time in repulsing this civilian 
assault upon his works. Governor Pease had given his 
letter to the press, for political effect at the North, long 
before he sent it to General Hancock ; but the latter 
replied at once on receipt of the missive, and with 
vigor. 

He pointed out the option given him by the Eecon- 
Btruction Act, to govern by the local civil tribunals, if 



286 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

in his judgment he thought best. The act, therefore, 
recognized those local civil tribunals as legal authori- 
ties for the purpose specified. 

He showed that such matters as the affection or 
respect or hatred of the people, so long as not devel- 
oped into violation of law, were matters beyond the 
power of human tribunals, and that freedom of thought 
and speech, though acrimonious, was consistent with 
human Avclfare. What the people of Texas thought 
of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of acts 
of Congress, had nothing to do with the manner in 
which they should be ruled. 

He declared that, at the expiration of two years after 
the close of the war, it was time to remember that it 
was proposed that the American people should be free- 
men and that it was time to tolerate free popular dis- 
cussion, and to extend forbearance and consideration 
to opposing views. 

He showed that to deny a profound state of peace in 
Texas necessitated a like denial in regard to any State 
in the Union where differences of opinion exist between 
majorities and minorities, and that, if difficulties in 
enforcing criminal laws in Texas authorized the setting 
aside of the local tribunals and the setting up of arbi- 
trary military commissions, they would warrant them 
in every State of the Union, where it is true that sher- 
iffs fail often to arrest, Avhere grand jurors will not 
always indict, where petit juries have acquitted per- 
sons who were guilty, and where prisoners charged 
with offences have broken jail and escaped. Such 
reasons for establishing military commissions would 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 287 

wipe civil government and law and liberty from the 
face of the earth. 

He showed with clearness that if he set aside the 
laws enacted for the people of the States lately in 
rebellion, which laws were not in conflict with the 
Constitution and acts of Congress, there would no 
longer exist any rights of person and property ; and 
he demonstrated the absurdity of a military commis- 
sion to establish wills, deeds, successions, or to settle 
an}' of the thousand questions which arise between 
men, for the solution of which laws and courts were 
established, and for dealing with which military com- 
missions were utterly incapable. 

He finally showed from the statistics that neither 
crime nor disloyal oflences were on the increase under 
the operation of "Order No. 40," but that the contrary 
was expressly true. 

But no synopsis can do justice to this letter, which 
is not only admirable as an exposition of the constitu- 
tional rights of citizens, but is a model of elegant and 
forcible composition. The mental strength of the writer 
is shown in every line. Following is the letter in 
full : — 

Headquakters Fifth Military District, ? 
New Orleans, La., March 9, 1868. S 

To His Excellency E. M. Pease, Governor of Texas : 

.SiK, — Yovu' commuuication of the 17th January last, was 
received in due course of mail (the 27th January), but not 
until it had been widely circulated by the newspaper press. 
To such a letter — written and published for manifest pur- 
poses — it has been my intention to reply as soon as leisure 
from more important business would permit. 



288 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Your statement that the act of Congress ' ' to provide for 
the more efficient government of the rebel States" declares 
that whatever government existed in Texas was provisional ; 
that peace and order should be enforced ; that Texas should 
be part of the Fifth Military District, and subject to mili- 
tary power ; that the President should appoint an officer to 
command in said district, and detail a force to protect the 
rights of person and property, suppress insurrection and 
violence, and punish offenders, either by militar}' commission 
or through the action of local civil tribunals, as in his judg- 
ment might seem best, will not be disputed. One need onl}- 
read the act to perceive it contain such provisions. But how 
all this is supposed to have made it m}^ duty to order the 
military commission requested, you have entirely failed to 
show. The power to do a thing, if shown, and the propriety 
of doing it, are often very different matters. You observe 
you are at a loss to understand how a government, without 
representation in Congress or a militia force, and subject to 
military power, can be said to be in the full exercise of all 
its proper powers. You do not reflect that this government, 
created or permitted by Congress has all the powers which 
the act intends, and may fully exercise them accordingly. If 
you thinlv it ought to have more powers, should be allowed to 
send members to Congress, wield a militia force, and possess 
yet other powers, your complaint is not to be preferred 
against me, but against Congress, who made it what it is. 

As respects the issue between us, any question as to what 
Congress ought to have done has no pertinence. You admit 
the act of Congress authorizes me to try an offender by mili- 
tary commission, or allow the local civil tribunals to try, as I 
shall deem best ; and you cannot deny the act expressly 
recognizes such local civil tribunals as legal authorities for 
the purpose specified. When 3-ou contend there are no legal 
local tribunals for any purpose in Texas, you must either 



WHSTPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 289 

deny the plain reading of the act of Congress or the power 
of Congress to pass the act. 

You next remark that 3'ou dissent from my declaration, 
" that the country (Texas) is in a state of profound peace," 
and proceed to state the grounds of your dissent. They 
appear to me not a little extraordinary. I quote your words : 
" It is true there no longer exists here (Texas) any organ- 
ized resistance to the authority of the United States." "But 
a large majority of the white population who participated in 
the late rebellion are embittered against the government, and 
yield to it an unwilling obedience." Nevertheless, you con- 
cede they do yield it obedience. You proceed : 

' ' None of this class have any affection for the government, 
and very few any respect for it. They regard the legislation 
of Congress on the subject of reconstruction as unconstitu- 
tional and hostile to their interests, and consider the govern- 
ment now existing here under authority of the United States 
as a usurpation on their rights. They look on the emanci- 
pation of their late slaves and the disfranchisement of a 
portion of their own class as an act of insult and o^Dpression." 

And this is all you have to present for proof that war and 
not peace prevails in Texas ; and hence it becomes my duty 
— so you suppose — to set aside the local civil tribunals, and 
enforce the penal code against citizens by means of military 
commissions. 

My dear sir, I am not a lawyer, nor has it been my busi- 
ness, as it may have been yours, to study the philosophy of 
statecraft and politics. But I ma}^ lay claim, after an expe- 
rience of more than half a lifetime, to some poor knowledge 
-of men, and soijie appreciation of what is necessary to social 
order and happiness. And for the future of our common 
countr}', I could devoutly wish that no great number of our 
people have yet fallen in with the views you appear to entertain. 
Woe be to us whenever it shall come to pass that the power 



290 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

of the magistrate — civil or military — is permitted to deal 
with the mere opinions or feelings of the people. 

I have been accustomed to believe that sentiments of 
respect or disrespect, and feelings of affection, love, or 
hatred, so long as not developed into acts in violation of law, 
were matters wholly beyond the punitory power of human 
tribunals. 

I will maintain that the entire freedom of thought and 
speech, however acrimoniously indulged, is consistent with 
the noblest aspirations of man, and the happiest condition of 
his race. 

When a boy, I remember to have read a speech of Lord 
Chatham, delivered in Parliament. It was during our Revo- 
lutionary war, and related to the policy of emploj^ng sav- 
ages on the side of Britain. You may be more famihar with 
the speech than I am. If I am not greatly mistaken, his 
lordship denounced the British Government — his government 
— in terms of unmeasured bitterness. He characterized its 
policy as revolting to every sentiment of humanity and 
religion ; i^roclaimed it covered with disgrace, and vented his 
eternal abhorrence of it and its measures. It may, I think, 
be safely asserted that a majority of the British nation con- 
curred in the views of Lord Chatham. But whoever sup- 
posed that profound peace was not existing in that kingdom, 
or that government had any authority to question the absolute 
right of the opposition to express their objections to the pro- 
priety of the king's measm-es in any words or to any extent they 
pleased ? It would be difficult to show that the opponents of 
the government in the days of the elder Adams, or Jefferson, 
or Jackson, exhibited for it either " affection" or " respect." 
Your are conversant with the history of our past parties and 
political struggles touching legislation on alienage, sedition, 
the embargo, national banks, our wars with England and 
MpYi'r.o. and cannot be ignorant of the fact, that for one 



WII!^IELD SCOTT HAl^TCOCK. 291 

party to assert that a law or system of legislation is unconsti- 
tutional, oppressive, and usurpative, is not a new thing in the 
United States. That the people of Texas consider acts of 
Congress unconstitutional, oppressive, or insulting to them, 
is of no consequence to the matter in hand. The President 
of the United States has announced his opinion that these 
acts of Congress are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, 
as you are aware, not long ago decided unanimously that a 
certain military commission was unconstitutional. Our peo- 
ple everywhere, in every State, without reference to the side 
the}^ took diu-ing the Rebellion, differ as to the constitution- 
ality of these acts of Congress. How the matter really is, 
neither you nor I may dogmatically aflSrm. 

If 3'ou deem them constitutional laws, and beneficial to the 
country, you not only have the right to publish 3'our opinions, 
but it might be your bounden dut}^ as a citizen to do so. Not 
less is it the privilege and duty of any and every citizen, 
wherever residing, to publish his opinion freely and fearlessly 
on this and eveiy question which he thinks concerns his 
interest. This is merely in accordance with the principles of 
our free government ; and neither j^ou nor I would wish to 
live under any other. It is time now, at the end of almost 
two years from the close of the war, we should begin to recol- 
lect what manner of people we are ; to tolerate again free, 
popular discussion, and extend some forbearance and con- 
sideration to opposing views. The maxims that in all intel- 
lectual contests truth is mighty and must prevail, and that 
error is harmless when reason is left free to combat it, are 
not only sound, but salutary. It is a poor compliment to the 
merits of such a cause, that its advocates would silence oppo- 
sition by force ; and generally those only who are in the 
wrong will resort to this ungenerous means. I am confident 
you will not commit your serious judgment to the proposition 
that any amount of discussion, or any sort of opinions, how- 



292 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ever unwise in your judgment, or any assertion of feeling, 
however resentful or bitter, not resulting in a breach of law, 
can furnish justification for 3'our denial that profound peace 
exists in Texas. You might as weU deny that profound peace 
exists in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California, 
Ohio and Kentucky, where a majority of people differ with a 
minority on these questions ; or that profound peace exists in 
the House of Representatives or the Senate at Washington, 
or in the Supreme Court, where all these questions have been 
repeatedly discussed, and parties respectfully and patiently 
heard. You next complain that in parts of the State (Texas) 
it is difficult to enforce the criminal laws ; that sheriffs fail to 
arrest ; that grand jurors will not always indict ; that in some 
cases the military, acting in aid of the civil authorities, have 
not been able to execute the process of the courts ; that petit 
jurors have acquitted persons adjudged guilty by you ; and 
that other persons charged with offences have broke jail and 
fled from prosecution. I know not how these things are ; but 
admitting your representations literally true, if for such 
reasons I should set aside the local ci^al tribunals and order a 
military commission, thpre is no place in the United States 
where it might not be done with equal propriety. There is not a 
State in the Union — North or South — where the lilce facts are 
not continually happening. Perfection is not to be predicated 
of man or his works. No one can reasonably exi3ec,t certain and 
absolute justice in human transactions ; and if military power is 
to be set in motion, on the principles for which you would 
seem to contend, I fear that a civil government, regulated by 
laws, could have no abiding place beneath the circuit of the 
sun. It is rather more than hinted in your letter, that there 
is no local State government in Texas, and no local laws out- 
side of the acts of Congress, which I ought to respect ; and 
that I should undertake to protect the rights of persons and 
property in my own way and in an arbitrary manner. If such 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 293 

be ^'oiir meaning, I am compelled to differ with you. After 
the abolition of slavery (an event which I hope no one now 
regrets) , the laws of Louisiana and Texas existing prior to the 
rebellion, and not in conflict with the acts of Congress, com- 
prised a vast system of jurisprudence, both civU and criminal. 
It required not volumes only, but libraries to contain them. 
They laid down principles and precedents for ascertaining 
the rights and adjusting the controversies of men in every 
conceivable case. The}' were the creations of great and 
good and learned men, who had labored in their day for 
their kind, and gone down to the grave long before our recent 
troubles, leaving their works an inestimable legacy to the 
human race. These laws, as I am informed, connected the 
civilization of past and present ages, and testified of the jus- 
tice, wisdom, humanity, and patriotism of more than one 
nation, through whose records they descended to the present 
people of these States. I am satisfied, from representations 
of persons competent to judge, they are as perfect a system 
of laws as may be found elsewhere, and better suited than 
any other to the condition of this people, for by them they 
have long been governed. "Why should it be supposed that 
Congress has abolished these laws ? Why should any one wish 
to abolish them ? They have committed no treason, nor are 
hostUe to the United States, nor countenance crime, nor favor 
injustice. On them, as on a foundation of rock, reposes 
almost the entire superstructui'e of social order in these two 
States. Annul tliis code of local laws, and there would be 
no longer any rights, either of person or property, here. Abol- 
ish the local civil tribunals made to execute them, and 3'on 
would virtually annul the laws, except in reference to the very 
few cases cognizable in the Federal courts. Let us for a mo- 
ment suppose the whole local civil code annulled, and that I 
am left, as commander of the Fifth Military District, the sole 
fountain of law and justice. This is the position in which 
you would place me. 



294 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

I am now to protect all rights and redress all wrongs. 
How is it possible for me to do it ? Innumerable questions 
arise, of which I am not onl}' ignorant, but to the solution of 
which a military court is entirely unfitted. One would estab- 
lish a will, another a deed ; or the question is one of succes- 
sion, or partnership, or descent, or trust ; a suit of ejectment 
or claim to chattels ; or the application may relate to robber}', 
theft, arson, or murder. How am I to take the first step in 
any such matter? If I tui-u-to the acts of Congress I find 
nothing on the subject. I dare not open the authors on the 
local code, for it has ceased to exist. 

And 3'ou tell me that in this perplexing condition I am to 
furnish, b}' dint of my own hasty and crude judgment, the 
legislation demanded by the vast and manifold interests of 
the people ! I repeat, sir, that 3'ou, and not Congress, are 
responsible for the monstrous suggestion that there are no 
local laws or institutions here to be respected by me, outside 
the acts of Congress. I say unhesitatingly, if it were pos- 
sible that Congress should pass an act abolishing the local 
codes for Louisiana and Texas — which I do not believe — and 
it should fall to my lot to supply their places with something 
of mj- own, I do not see how I could do better than follow 
the laws in force here prior to the Rebellion, excepting what- 
ever thei-ein shall relate to slavery. Power may destro}' the 
forms, but not the principles of justice ; these will live in 
spite even of the sword. History tells us that the Roman 
pandects were lost for a long period among the rubbish that 
war and revolution had heaped upon them : but at length were 
dug out of the ruins, again to be regarded as a precious 
treasure. 

You are pleased to state that ' ' since the publication of 
(nw) general orders No. 40, there has been a perceptible 
increase of crime and manifestations of hostile feeling toward 
the Government and its supporters," and add that it is "an 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 295 

unpleasant duty to give such a recital of the condition of the 
country." 

You will permit me to say that I deem it impossible the 
first of these statements can be true, and that I do very 
greatly doubt the correctness of the second. General orders 
No. 40 was issued at New Orleans, Nov. 29, 18G7, and your 
letter was dated Jan. 17, 18G8. Allowing time for order No. 
40 to reach Texas and become generally known, some addi- 
tional time must have elapsed before its effect would be mani- 
fested, and 3'et a further time must transpire before you would 
be able to collect the evidence of what you term ' ' the condi- 
tion of the countr}' ;" and 3'et, after all this, j^ou would have 
to make the necessary investigations to ascertain if order No. 
40, or something else, was the cause. The time, therefore, 
remaining to enable 3'ou, before the 17th of Januar}', 1868, 
to reach a satisfactory conclusion on so delicate and nice a 
question must have been very short. How j^ou proceeded ; 
whether you investigated yourself or through thkd persons ; 
and if so, who they were, what their competency and fair- 
ness ; on what e\adenee you rested your conclusion, or whether 
you ascertained any facts at all, are points upon which j'our 
letter so discreetly omits all mention, that I ma}' well be ex- 
cused for not relying implicitly upon it ; nor is my diflaculty 
diminished by the fact that in another part of your letter you 
state that ever since the close of the war a very large portion 
of the people have had no affection for the Government, but 
bitterness of feeling only. Had the duty of publishing and 
circulating through the countr3^^ long before it reached me, 
your statement that the action of the district commander was 
increasing crime and hostile feeling against the Government, 
been less painful to yom- sensibilities, it might possibly have 
occurred to you to fui-nish something on the subject in addi- 
tion to 3'our bai'e assertion. 

But what was order No. 40, and how could it have the 



296 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

effect you attribute to it? It sets forth that "the great prin- 
ciples of American liberty are still the inheritance of this 
people and ever should be ; that the right of trial b}^ jiuy, the 
habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 
and the natural rights of persons and property must be pre- 
served." "Will you question the truth of these declarations ? 
Which one of these great principles of liberty are j'ou ready 
to deny and repudiate ? Whoever does so avows himself the 
enemy of human liberty and the advocate of despotism. 
Was there any intimation in general orders No. 40 that any 
crimes or breaches of law would be countenanced ? You 
know that there was not. On the contrary, you know per- 
fectly well that while " the consideration of crime and 
offences committed in the Fifth Military District was referred 
to the judgment of the regular civil tribunals," a pledge was 
given in order No. 40, which all understood, that tribunals 
would be supported in theu* lawful jurisdiction, and that 
' ' forcible resistance to law would be instantly suppressed by 
arms." You will not affirm that this pledge has ever been 
forfeited. There has not been a moment since I have been 
in command of the Fifth District, when the whole military 
force in my hands has not been ready to support the civil 
authorities of Texas in the execution of the laws. And I am 
unwUhng to beheve they would refuse to call for aid if they 
needed it. 

There are some considerations which, it seems to me, 
should cause 3'ou to hesitate before indulging in wholesale 
censures against the civil authorities of Texas. You are 
youi'self the chief of these authorities ; not elected by the peo- 
ple, but created by the miUtary. Not long after you had thus 
come into office, all the judges of the Supreme Court of 
Texas — five in number — were removed from office, and new 
appointments made ; twelve of the seventeen district judges 
were removed and others appointed. County officers, more 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 297 

or less, in seventy-five out of one hundred and twent3'-eiglit 
counties, were removed, and others appointed in their places. 
It is fair to conclude that the executive and judicial civil 
functionaries in Texas are the persons whom joii desired to 
fill the offices. It is proper to mention, also, that none but 
registered citizens, and only those who could take the test 
oath, have been allowed to serve as jurors during your admin- 
istration. Now, it is against the local government, ci'eated 
by military power prior to my coming here, and so composed 
of your personal and political friends, that you have preferred 
the most grievous complaints. It is of them that you have 
asserted they will not do their dut}^ ; they will not maintain 
justice ; will not arrest oflfenders ; will not punish crimes ; 
and that out of one hundred homicides committed in the last 
twelve months, not over ten arrests have been made ; and by 
means of such gross disregard of duty, you declare that 
neither property nor life is safe in Texas. 

Certainly you could have said nothing more to the discredit 
of the officials who are now in office. If the facts be as you 
allege, a mystery is presented for which I can imagine no ex 
planation. Why is it that your pohtical friends, backed uj^ 
and sustained b}"- the whole military of the United States in 
this district, should be unwilling to enforce the laws against 
that part of the population lately in rebellion, and whom 3'ou 
represent as the ofienders ? In all the history of these trou- 
bles, I have never seen or heard before of such a fact. I re- 
peat, if the fact be so, it is a profound mystery, utterly sur- 
passing my comprehension. I am constrained to declare that 
I believe 3'ou are in very great error as to facts. On careful 
examination at the proper source, I find that, at the date of 
yom* letter, four cases only of homicides had been reported to 
these headquarters as having occurred since Nov. 29, 1867, 
the date of order 40, and these cases were ordered to be 
tried or investigated as soon as the reports were received. 



298 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

However, the fact of one hundred homicides may still he cor- 
rect, as stated b}^ ^'ou. The Freedmen's Bureau in Texas 
reported one hundred and sixty ; how many of these were by 
Indians and Mexicans, and how the remainder were classified, 
is not known, nor is it known whether these data are ac- 
curate. 

The report of the commanding officer of the District of 
Texas shows that since I assumed command no applications 
have been made to him b}' you for the arrest of criminals in 
the State of Texas. 

To this date eighteen cases of homicides have been reported 
to me as having occurred since Nov. 29, 1867, although 
special instructions had been given to report such cases as 
they occur. Of these, five were committed by Indians, one 
b}'' a Mexican, one by an insane man, three by colored men, 
two of women by their husbands, and of the remainder, some 
by parties unknown — all of which could be scarcely attribut- 
able to order No. 40. If the reports received since the 
issuing of order No. 40 are correct, they exhibit no increase 
of homicides in my time, if j^ou are correct that one hundred 
had occurred in the past twelve months. 

That there has not been a perfect administration of justice 
in Texas I am not prepared to den3\ 

That there has been no such wanton disregard of duty on 
the part of oflicials as you allege, I am weU satisfied. A 
verj' little while ago j'ou regarded the present officials in 
Texas the only ones who could be safely trusted with power. 
Now you pronounce them worthless, and would cast them 
aside. 

I have found little else in your letter but indications of 
temper, lashed into excitement by causes which I deem 
mostly imaginary, a great confidence in the accuracy of j'our 
own opinions, and an intolerance of the opinions of others, 
a desire to punish the thoughts and feelings of those who 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 299 

differ from you, and an impatience which magnifies the short- 
comings of officials who are perhaps as earnest and conscien- 
tious in the discharge of their duties as yourself, and a m.ost 
unsound conclusion that while any persons are to be found 
wanting in affection or respect for government, or yielding it 
obedience from motives which you do not approve, war, and 
not peace, is the status, and all such persons are the proper 
subjects for military penal jurisdiction. 

If I have written anything to disabuse your mind of so 
grave an error, I shall be gratified. 

I am, sir, very respectfullj^, your obedient servant, 

W. S. Hancock, 
Major- General Commanding. 

But all this time General Hancock's action was inter- 
fering, not only with the greedy carpet-baggers, who 
were fattening upon the Southern States, but with the 
schemes of the Radical majority in Congress. A 
Presidential election was approaching, and it was no 
part of their plan to permit the South to acquire such 
a degree of rehabilitation as to have the vote of its 
people counted in determining the result. To elect 
their candidate and retain possession of Congress it 
was necessary that the South should remain under 
military rule, that its citizens should be under the 
ban of disfranchisement, and that Federal troops 
should fence in the polls. 

To allow Hancock's plan of constitutional and legal 
government to be carried out, would bring the South 
peaceably and happily back into the Union before the 
ambition of these politicians could be realized. Hence 
it was decreed that Hancock must go. The President 



300 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

had appointed him and the President alone could 
remove him. So it must be accomplished by indi- 
rection. The first plan was to pass a bill reducing 
the number of major-generals in the regular army — 
Hancock having received that rank in 1866 — and turn 
him out in that way. A bill was introduced to this 
effect ; but the prospect of a tremendous popular reac- 
tion against its authors terrified them, and it was 
dropped. 

A quieter scheme was then concocted. General 
Grant was by this time thoroughly imbued with the 
Presidential ambition, and with the assurance of the 
Kepublican nomination he readily lent himself to the 
plans of the leaders of that party. The first step was, 
by act of Congress, to place in the hands of the Gen- 
eral of the army unusual powers, exceeding those of 
the President, in regard to the administration of the 
military governments of the South. The next was for 
the General to use these powers in interference with 
General Hancock's direction of affairs in his district in 
such a manner as to cripple his authority and, in fact, 
place him in a humiliating position. 

About this time General Hancock wrote to a friend 
in Congress: "I hope to be relieved here soon. The 
President is no longer able to protect me. So that I 
may expect one humiliation after another until I am 
forced to resign. I am prepared for any event. Noth- 
ing can intimidate me from doing what I belie v-e to be 
honest and right." 

General Hancock applied to be relieved from his 
command on the 27th of February, 1868 ; and the 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 301 

South was given over to the bayonet, to plunder, and 
to strife. But the record of that six months' consti- 
tutional rule in the midst of military despotism on 
every hand had placed Hancock's name high on the 
roll of Democratic statesmen. 



302 LIFE A]^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER IX. 

Hancock's Consistent and Patriotic Democracy. — His California 
Speech in 1861. — His Acts in 18C8. — Intimacy with President 
Lincoln. — The Democratic Convention of 1868. — Hancock the 
Leading Candidate. — His Letter Endorsing the Nomination of 
Seymour. — The Convention of 1876. — He Again Keceives a Large 
Vote. — Tributes to His Character. 

It is pleasing to note with what consistent patriotism 
General Hancock performed his duties to his country. 
With him the Democratic sentiment was not a flickering 
flame, blown hither and thither with every breath of 
circumstance or interest. It was a steady light, illu- 
mining his path at every step, and maldng it impossible 
for him to go astray. 

In every situation we find him the same loyal, deter- 
mined champion of the rights of a free people under a 
free government. Thus, when he was captain and 
quartermaster at Los Angeles, at the outbreak of the 
war, before the news of actual secession had reached 
that distant point, he declared himself promptly and 
unflinchingly on the side of the Union ; and in a speech 
made on the 4th of July, 1861, he said : — 

" Who of us can forget the names of Lexington, of Mon- 
mouth, of Brandywine and Yorktown, and who can regret 
that he is a descendant of those who fought there for the 
liberties we now enjoy? And what flag is it that we now 
look to as the banner that carried us tlu'ough the gi-eat con- 
test, and was honored by the gallant deeds of its defenders ? 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 303 

The star-spangledbannerof America, then embracing thu-teen 
pale stars, representing that number of oppressed colonies. 
Now, thirty-four bright planets, representing that number of 
great States. To be sure, clouds intervene between us and 
eleven of that number, but we will trust that those clouds 
may soon be dispelled, and that those great stars in the south-, 
ern constellation may shine forth again with even greater 
splendor than before. 

" Let us believe, at least let us trust, that our brothers 
there do not wish to separate themselves permanently from 
the common memories which have so long bound us together, 
but that when reason returns and resumes her sway they will 
prefer the brighter page of history which our mutual deeds 
have inscribed upon the tablets of time, to that of the uncertain 
future of a new confederation, which, alas ! to them may 
prove illusory and unsatisfactory. 

' ' Let them return to vis. We will welcome them as brothers 
who have been estranged, but have come back. We have an 
interest in the battle-fields of the Revolution in those States, 
not second to their own. Our forefathers fought there side 
by side with theirs. Can they, if they would, throw aside 
their rights to the memories of the great fields on our soU on 
which their ancestors won renown ? No, they cannot ! God 
forbid that they should desire it. To those who, regardless 
of these sacred memories, insist on sundering this union of 
States, let us who only wish our birthrights preserved to us, 
and whose desire it is to be still citizens of this great country 
that gave us birth, and to live under the flag which has gained 
for us the glory we boast of, say this day, to those among us 
who feel aggrieved : Your rights we will respect ; j'our wrongs 
we will assist 3'ou to redress ; but the government resulting 
from the union of these States is a priceless heritag;e that we 
intend to preserve and defend to the last extremity." 



304 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

And when, seven years later, after he had proved the 
sincerity of his words by service for free government on 
the bloodiest fields of the war, he was called to respon- 
sible administrative duties, he also proved his belief 
in a government of and by the people. He was a 
Unionist in the truest and best sense of the word, 
because he was a true Democrat. 

So, too, during his service in Washington at the be- 
ginning of his career, Abraham Lincoln found in the 
young Brigadier-General of volunteers a strong and 
congenial soul, filled with the sincerest patriotism and 
enthusiasm for the Union. He was frequently sent 
for by the President for consultation and for an inter- 
change of views ; for the key-note of Lincoln's policy 
was the same idea which moved General Hancock in his 
course durins: and after the war. It was that the Union 
must be preserved ; fii-st, by putting down armed re- 
bellion at any cost ; secondly, by restoring the reign of 
law and establishing again free po]3ular government in 
the South. Hancock was only carrying out the wise 
and patriotic policy of the martyred President in his 
administration in Louisiana and Texas when those who 
had opposed Lincoln turned their opposition also against 
the general who had been Lincoln's friend. 

It was such absolute confidence in General Hancock's 
loyalty to the ideas on which our constitutional govern- 
ment is based, that led the Democracy of the country 
to look to him as the proper leader of the party in the 
Presidential contest of 1868. He, of all the major- 
generals in the army, had shown a strength of principle 
sufliciently stalwart to maintain the rights of the people 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 305 

against the encroachments of the Eadical majority in 
Congress. He alone had the moral courage to refuse 
the gift of absolute power given him by act of Congress, 
and to subordinate the military arm to civil authority. 
He was, in fact, the foremost representative of the idea 
of constitutional government, and many thought that to 
his hands should be entrusted the Democratic banner 
in the election which was then approaching. 

The convention met in New York city, July 4, 1868, 
Governor Seymour presiding. The organization oc- 
cupied two days, and upon the third day, July 7, the 
States were first called for the presentation of candi- 
dates. When Maine was reached on the list, Gen. 
Samuel J. Anderson presented the name of General 
Hancock in the following speech : — 

I am directed by the majority of the delegates from 
Maine to present to this body as a candidate, a gentleman 
who, they believe, unites in himself all the best character- 
istics of the most available candidates, and who, if elected, 
would be able to discharge acceptably, and as weU as any 
other man in the country, the duties of the chief executive 
office of the United States. I present a gentleman who, by 
his position dm'ing the past year, has made a record that 
stands to-day high in the hearts of the whole American peo- 
ple ; a gentleman who, appointed to a Mihtary District of the 
United States, — succeeding one who in that position had sub- 
ordinated his regard for the laws and the Constitution of the 
country, and his respect for the Chief Magistrate of the 
United States, to his own ambitious longings for wealth and 
power, — standing there as the representative of his Govern- 
ment, Interposed the shield of the laws of the country be- 
tween the tyranny of hard and petty tyrants and an op- 



306 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

pressed and outraged people ; a man who, by nature gifted 
with a broad, comprehensive, and discriminating intellect, 
educated in a school which taught him that the govern- 
ment was instituted to afford to its citizens the great car- 
dinal rights of personal libertj', personal security, and the 
right to acquire and enjoy property, stood there and inter- 
posed between the operations of the military government 
and the people who had been outraged and oppressed, the 
law that should accord to them those rights ; a gentleman 
who, on another field, was one of the brave men in command 
of troops in the late contest, and united within himself the 
attributes of lion-hearted courage and great magnanimity ; 
who fought well for the nation which placed him in command, 
but held forth the hand of mercy to the enemy when brought 
beneath his arms ; a man who, ever foremost in the fight, 
held the plume aloft, which, like the helmet of Navarre, 
was always the oriflamme under which his troops went on 
either to honorable death or glorious victor}". With these 
words it would seem almost superfluous to give the name ; but 
I will nominate Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock. 

General Hancock's nomination was received with 
great cheers, and the balloting began. On the first 
ballot Pendleton led with 105 votes (each delegate 
casting half a vote) , and Hancock stood next on the 
list with 33^. It was a long and weary balloting, 
extending into the following day with the relative 
position of the leading candidates but little changed. 
On the fifteenth ballot, however, the chairman of the 
Pennsylvania delegation announced that, having voted 
up to that time for Hon. Asa Packer, the vote of the 
State would then be thrown for General Plancock. 
From that point onward General Hancock stood at the 



"WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 307 

head of the poll, on the eighteenth ballot receiving 
144 1 votes, or nearly a majority. 

It was at length proved to the satisfaction of all the 
delegates that the necessary two-thirds vote could not 
bo secured for any candidate then before the Conven- 
tion, and on the twenty-second ballot ex-Governor 
Seymour was nominated. 

It is interesting to observe that, in this Convention, 
eleven of the twelve votes of Massachusetts were 
steadily cast for General Hancock, from the first ballot 
to the end of the contest ; and further, that the Massa- 
chusetts delegation was, as in 1880, headed by Judge 
J. G. Abbott, and was largely composed of the same 
men who, in 1880, supported him in the Cincinnati 
Convention for a successful nomination. 

The opposition at this time took occasion to represent 
General Hancock as disaflected by the result of the 
Convention, and to claim that he would not cordially 
support the candidate of the constitutional party. 
Little did they know the man. Little did they under- 
stand how firm was the foundation of principle on 
which he based his conduct. But, in consequence of 
these misrepresentations, Mr. Glover addressed him a 
letter of inquiry, as follows : — 

St. Louts, July 13, 1868. 
Major-General Haxcock : 

Dear Sir, — I deem it proper to direct your attention to 
statements made b}' the Radical press, to the eflfect that 3-ou 
are greatly dissatisfied with the results of the National 
Democratic Convention. The object of these statements is 
to create an impression that you do not acquiesce in the 



308 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

judgment of the Convention, and that your friends do not ; 
and that, in consequence, Seymour and Blair will not have 
theh' cordial support. I wish j'ou to know, General, that I 
have taken the liberty to pronounce these statements false, 
and to assm'c those who have spoken with me on the subject, 
that nothing could cause you more regret than to find your 
friends, or any of them, less earnest in supporting the ticket 
which has been nominated than they would have been had 
your name stood in the place of Mr. SejTnour's. 
I am, sir, sincerely, your friend, 

S. T. Glover. 

To this General Hancock replied in a manly letter 
which shows the character of this true representative of 
loyal Democracy : — 

Newport, R. I., July 17, 18G8. 
S. T. Glover, St. Louis : 

My Dear Sir, — I am greatly obliged for j^our favor of the 
13th inst. Those who suppose that I do not acquiesce in the 
work of the National Democratic Convention, or that I do 
not sincerely desire the election of its nominees, know very 
Uttle of m}' character. Believing as I really do, that the 
preservation of constitutional government eminently depends 
on the success of the Democratic party in the coming elec- 
tion, were I to hesitate in its candid support, I feel I should 
not only falsify my own record, but commit a crime against 
my country. I never aspired to the Presidency on account 
of myself. I never sought its doubtful honors and certain 
labors and responsibilities merely for the position. My own 
wish was to promote, if I could, the good of the country, 
and to rebuke the spirit of revolution which had invaded 
every sacred precinct of liberty. When, therefore, you pro- 
nounced the statements in question false, you did exactly 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 309 

right. Principles and not men is the motto for the rugged 
crisis in which we are now strugghng. Had I been made the 
Presidential nominee, I should have considered it a tribute, 
not to me, but to the principles which I had proclaimed and 
practised. But shall I cease to revere those principles be- 
cause, by mutual pohtical friends, another has been appointed 
to put them into execution ? Never ! Never ! Never ! 

These, sir, are my sentiments, whatever interested parties 
ma}^ say to the contrary ; and I desire that all may know and 
understand them. I shall ever hold in grateful remembrance 
the faithful friends who, hailing from every section of the 
Union, preferred me by their votes and other expressions of 
confidence, both in and out of the Convention, and shall do 
them all the justice to believe that they were governed by 
patriotic motives ; that they did not propose sunply to 
aggrandize my personal fortunes, but to save then' country 
through me ; and that they will not suffer anything like 
personal preferences or jealousies to stand between them 
and their manifest duty. 

I have the honor to be, dear sir, very respectfully yours, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

General Hancock had spent three years in command 
of the Department of Dakota, and had been transferred 
back to the Department of the Atlantic, when bis 
name was again presented for the consideration of the 
National Democratic Convention as a candidate for the 
Presidency. During this time he had been quietly 
performing the duties of his office, taking no part in 
public life ; but the people had not forgotten him oi 
his great and priceless services to the country. 

The National Democratic Convention of 1876 met 
at St. Louis, June 27, Gen. John A. McClernand of 



310 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Illinois presiding. On the afternoon of the second 
day, the States were called upon to name candidates 
for the nomination ; and this time it was his own State 
of Pennsylvania which proposed General Hancock. 
The presentation was made by Hon. Heister Clymer 
in the following speech : — 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention: I am 
charged by the delegation from the State of Pennsylvania, 
representing three hundi-ed and twenty-five thousand Demo- 
crats, to present in their name, and by their authority, as 
their unanimous choice for the highest elective office on 
earth, the name of one born on their soil and dear to theu' 
hearts ; the name of one whose character is the embodiment 
of all that is chivalrous in manhood and excellent in morals ; 
the name of one who never drew his sword save in defence 
of his country's honor, or in obedience to her laws ; the name 
of one who, in the hour of supreme victory, never forgot a 
common brotherhood ; the name of one who, although the 
very exemplar of grim-visaged war, is yet the sincerest and 
lowliest devotee of the Constitution and the law ; the name 
of one who, in the plenitude of military power, when dis- 
honored, dismembered, and dismantled States were placed in 
his absolute sway, declared that the liberty of the press, the 
habeas corpus, the right of trial by jury, the right of persons 
and of property must be maintained ; the name of one whose 
fame and reputation are true to every American citizen of 
whatever race or color, party or creed — the name of Winfield 
Scott Hancock. 

We present it to 3'ou as the very shibboleth of victor}'. 
No man may doubt his honor ; no man will dare to question 
his integi-ity. About him closes the affection of tens of 
thousands of men who sat with him by the camp-fire, who 
have gone with him through the shadow of death, and whom 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 311 

he has led into the clear sunlight of victor3^ And there are 
other tens of thousands who have never met him, save as 
foemen in battle-array, amid the roar of cannon and the 
blood and carnage of civU strife, who yet never breathe his 
name save in honor, and to whom he is endeared by his 
kindness, his justice, his mercy, and by his devotion to the 
Constitution and the law. His past record is his pledge for 
the future ; we point to it with pride and rely upon it with 
unshaken faith. Standing here upon the banks of this mighty 
river, in this imperial centre, we ask the brethren from all the 
sections of the Republic to unite with us in proclaiming hirg 
our nominee. His is no sectional fame ; his will be no sec- 
tional support, and his will be no partisan victory. Good 
men everywhere, men who are devoted to the Constitution 
and the law, men who denounce fraud and corruption, men 
who are determined to give to the people of aU the States 
the inestimable boon of home rule and self-government, men 
who are determined to drive out from high places the thieves 
who have fattened upon the ill-gotten gains wrenched from 
citizen and soldier alike, men who are opposed to the infa- 
mous and corrupt military sj'stems by which want, misery, 
suffering, and almost universal bankruptcy are brought upon 
this land, will unite with us upon this son of ours ; and if 
they so unite, who may doubt the result? 

Mr. Chairman, once in his career — history wiU record it 
as a fact — he saved his State, and through her the union of 
these States, at Gettj^sburg. K you nominate him in this 
Convention, history will record another fact, that he will 
rescue his State in November next, and thus rescue the 
Federal Government from the degradation and misrule which 
now curse it. 

Gen. Joseph L. Brent then appeared on the rostrum 
and addressed the Convention as follows : — 



312 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : I would 
not hare ventured to trouble this Convention if the delega- 
tion of the great State of Pennsylvania had not expressed 
their Avish that something should be said in behalf of and in 
relation to their favorite sou, who, in the State of Louisiana 
made a civil record while he was exercising powers and func- 
tions not exceeded b}'^ an}^ governor or government except 
that of the Sultan of Turkey or the Shah of Persia, and 
which government he exercised in the same spirit that 
George Washington, the father of his country, exhibited 
when, the war of the Revolution being terminated, he 
sheathed his sword and delivered his commission to the 
civil authorities of the country. Therefore, gentlemen, 
human gratitude would be but an expression if a sou of 
Louisiana should hear the name of Winfield Scott Hancock 
mentioned. We in Louisiana and in the South, know Gen- 
eral Hancock as the great Union winner in war and in peace. 
Along the fateful heights of Gcttj'sburg, in the dark thickets 
of the Wilderness, wc knew him, standing in the van and 
fore-front of the late war, as the champion and embodiment 
of Columbia victrix et benevolens ; and when peace came, and 
over this broad Republic no flag was seen but the flag of our 
common country, we i-ecoguize him again as the representa- 
tive of Columbia victrix et benevolens, declaring to ten millions 
of his fellow citizens that there still remain to them the civil 
birth-right and inheritance of the fathers — habeas corpus, 
trial by jury, protection to property in due coiurse of law. 
Therefore, gentlemen, he has won us to the Union twice — 
by arms and in peace ; and I cannot but think that the 
prosperity and safety of the country will be assured by him 
who has been illustrious in war and wise and generous in 
peace. 

Mr. F. B. Sexton of Texas then arose and addressed 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 313 

the Convention in further support of the nomination. 
IIo said : — 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : 1 come from a far-ofi" State 
of this Union, and on the extreme south-western border ; 
and I feel it my duty to say, and it is my pleasure to say, 
that there are a very eonsiderablc number of the people of 
that State who entertain the opinion that Pennsylvania's dis- 
tinguished son, Gen. Winfield S. Ilaneock, is a pure patriot 
and a distinguished statesman, endowed by nature and by 
cultivation with ability and intelligence fully equal to dis- 
charge the high and responsible duties of President of the 
United States. I should not have felt it my dutj^ to say this 
much had I not l>een invited Ijy the Pennsylvania delegation, 
and also because, while a very large majority of my fellow- 
d(.'legates who represent the State of Texas entertain the 
opinion that another distinguished gentleman is the most 
available candidate whom we can present at this time for 
the consideration of the American people, there are a con- 
siderable number in Texas who think that General Hancock 
is that man. It is just and right to them, and to the senti- 
ment which I represent for them, that this should be made 
known, and for the discharge of this duty I appear before 
you. 

I have simply to say, as was said by the gentleman from 
Louisiana, that the ability of General Hancock as a states- 
man has been tried in Texas by the severest of all ordeals — 
the ordeal of experience. It gives me pleasure to say this 
much, and to say if General Hancock should be nominated 
by this Convention he will receive a most enthusiastic sup- 
port.. I know I speak the sentiment of Texas when I say 
this — that he will receive a most enthusiastic support from 
tiie whole of Texas. 

But, like my colleague who addiesscd you, I say further, 



314 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

that whoever may be nominated of the distinguished gentle- 
men whose names have been presented before you, 3'ou need 
have no doubt about the majority in Texas. We have ten 
thousand Democratic votes to give to the nominee of this 
Convention, and we only ask that those of j'ou who come from 
the older and the greater States of this Union will present us 
a man who will be sure to win us success in November. 

But it was not to be. The fulness of time had not 
come. General Hancock received seventy-five votes 
on the first ballot, standing third on the list ; and on 
the second ballot ex-Governor Tilden was nominated. 
Pennsylvania voted for Hancock to the last ; and when 
the result was known, it was his State which moved to 
make the nomination of JVIr. Tildeu unanimous. 



•WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, 315 



CHAPTER X. 

The Cincinnati Convention of 1380. — Daniel Dougherty of Philadel- 
phia nominates General Hancock. — Speech of Governor Hub- 
bard of Texas, Seconding the Nomination. — Tho First Ballot. — 
Hancock Nominated on the Second Ballot. — Enthusiasm in tho 
Convention. — Speeches of Wade Hampton, Speaker Randall, Sen- 
ator Wallace, Voorhees, aud others. 

The time at last came when the Democratic party, 
the constitutional party of the United States, was to 
call upon this soldier of the Constitution to lead the 
people in the contest for popular rule throughout the 
length and breadth of the land. The passage of time 
had rendered only more brilliant the record of General 
Hancock in civil as well as military affairs, and it was 
seen that, in solving the problems of administration 
pressing upon the country, his strong principle and 
clear patriotism were needed. 

The National Democratic Convention met at Cincin- 
nati, O., on the 22d of June, 1880, Hon. John W. 
Stevenson of Kentucky presiding. The first day was 
occupied in organization, and on the second day the 
roll of the States was called for candidates. AVhen 
Peimsyivania was reached, the chairman of that delega- 
tion announced that the State had no candidate to pre- 
sent as the unanimous choice of the delegates, but that 
one of the delegates wished to make a nomination. 
]Mr. Daniel Dougherty then proceeded to the platform, 
and spoke as follows : — 



316 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

I present to the thoughtful consideration of the convention 
the name of one who, on the field of battle, was styled " the 
superb," yet won still nobler renown as the Military Governor 
whose first act, in assuming command in Louisiana and 
Texas, was to salute the Constitution by proclaiming, amid 
the joj'ous greetings of an oppressed people, that the military, 
save in actual war, shall be subservient to the civil power. 

The plighted word of the soldier was proved in the deeds 
of the statesman. 

I name one who, if nominated, will suppress every faction, 
and be alilce acceptable to the North and to the South. 
"WTiose nomination will thrill the land from end to end, crush 
the embers of sectional strife, and be hailed as tlie dawning 
of the longed-for day of perpetual brotherhood. 

"With him we can fling away our shields and wage aggres- 
sive war. With him as our chieftain the bloody banner of 
the Republicans will fall from their palsied grasp. We can 
appeal to the supreme tribunal of the American people 
against the con'uptions of the Republican party and its 
untold violations of constitutional liberty. 

Oh ! my countrymen, in this supreme moment, the desti- 
nies of the Republic, the imperilled liberties of the people, 
hang breathless on your deliberations. Pause ! reflect ! 
beware ! take no misstep. 

I nominate him who can carry every Southern State. Can 
carry Pennsylvania, Indiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, and 
New York. The soldier-statesman, with a record stainless as 
his sword. I nominate Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsyl- 
vania. If elected he will take his seat. 



This ringing speech w^as received with great applause, 
and when the State of Texas was reached, the nomina- 
tion was seconded in the same stirring strain by Gov- 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 317 

ernor Hubbard, a delegate from that State. Governor 
Hubbard said : — 

Gentlemen of the Convention : I have but a word to say. 
I rise by request, a request which meets the impulses of my 
owu bosom, to second the nomination of the soldier-states- 
man, Winfield S. Hancock. Men of the Convention, it is 
peculiarly fit that Texas, that Louisiana, should respond to 
that nomination. Hear me for a moment. 

When the war closed ; when the flag that some of us fol- 
lowed was furled forever ; when again the Constitution of the 
fathers was the supreme law of the land, as it is now and 
ever shall be, there came down through the Southland, 
through my own State, and Louisiana especially, a race of 
carpet-baggers, lil^e the Vandals of old, prejnng upon our 
wasted substance. Military governors filled the bastiles with 
prisoners from civil life. Men who had committed naught 
but fancied offences against the government were crowded in 
every jail and in every bastile from the Rio Grande to the 
" Father of Waters." In that hour when we had lost aU ; 
when by the side of every hearthstone were weeping Rachels ; 
when the wolf was howling at almost every door ; when there 
was widowhood and oi-phanage everywhere, there came a 
voice in that darkness of the night-time that said to us, "I am 
3'om' military ruler ; the war has closed ; unbar your dun- 
geons, open your courts and be tried as the Constitution 
prescribes." That man was Winfield S. Hancock. It was an 
easy thing to be a summer friend ; but at the time of our sor- 
row, when he held his office at the hands of the great Repub- 
lican part}', who could, and did remove him, there stood a 
man, with the Constitution before him, reading it as the 
fathers read it ; that the war having passed we resimied the 
habiliments that belonged to us — our rights, not as a con- 
quered province, but as a free people. The voice of a man 



318 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

like Hancock, who risked his reputation and his place and 
power in tlie very frown and teeth of tbe Republican party, 
is a man that it will do to trust the standard of your party to. 

Sir, he is not only a soldier ; that is something in the 
contest that is to be waged, as the gaUant Hampton has told 
you. The South will be united, whoever you may nominate. 
But faiUng in principle, failing upon every issue of finance or 
of reform or of good government, to attack the record of the 
Democratic part}' ; mark it, the slogan will be ' ' The bloody 
South ; the old haven of rebellion still lives." You will hear 
it from the mountains and your highlands ; j^ou will hear it 
all along the lines. If you nominate Hancock, if j'ou nom- 
inate Hancock, where is the argument? "We can say every- 
where, here is a soldier second not even to the silent man on 
horseback. Here is a soldier that bore down even ujDon us 
like the brigade at Balaclava, like a plumed knight to the 
front ; here is a man whom one hundred thousand Northern 
soldiers, if they are like Southern soldiers, will rally around 
his standard, because he was a great soldier, and a good man 
and a faithful citizen when the war was over. 

General Hancock is not wanting in aU the eloquence of 
the statesman. Read his letter to Governor Pease. It is 
worthy of being placed upon the proudest pages of American 
histor}^. In the letter he discussed and asserted the superi- 
oritj' and supremacy of the civil power over the sword and 
spear. I have nothing more to say except this, that if you 
nominate him, not only the South will stand around him 
ag the Old Guard did around Napoleon, but I believe the 
soldiers of the great North, the men who houestl}- fought us 
ia that gi'catost of hiunan conflicts. And with that, a record 
that is without staiu and without reproach ; with no Credit 
Mobilier scandal or DeGol.yer frauds around him. With a 
stainless name, blending together the soldier and the states- 
man, we wiU win after a quarter of a century. We will win 



WESTPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 319 

the contest, and when won, if there is a man living in the 
broad confines of this great countrj'' who wUl wear these 
honors, it is "Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania. 

Then followed other endorsments as the roll-call of 
the States proceeded ; among them Hon. John W. 
Daniel said : — 

"We are here to-day embarrassed by the very brilliancy 
and variety of the names which have challenged public favor 
for the first ofBce in the people's gift. Jurists who have worn 
untarnished ermine ; statesmen who have moulded the poUcy, 
shaped the measures, and fought the battles of the party ; 
soldiers who have enriched our history with feats of arms, 
and who are battle-scarred with wounds of honor ; orators, 
scholars, thinkers, actors in every leading enterprise of a 
practical nature or intellectual endeavor, stand in glittering 
array around us, worthy to be crowned with any honor or to 
be the recipient of any trust that this great public can bestow. 
The question which I have asked myself ; the question which, 
it seems to me, should be the index-finger to guide our work 
to a wise conclusion, is this : Who is that man among them 
who can interlace together the heart-strings of this American 
people ? Who is that man who can make to permeate through 
every portion of this mighty country those sentiments of 
mutual confidence and of brotherly love which once abided 
among us before the schism of the secession war? When 
I have asked the question, the heart of every man gives me 
answer that that man is Winfield Scott Hancock of Pcnns3i- 
vauia. Did I say of Pennsylvania? Winfield Scott Hancock 
of the United States ; of every State by his good right hand 
reunited. They tell us, gentlemen, that this country is tired 
of the ride of the camp and of the sword. They tell us that 
the people ai'e wear}' of martial habits and of martial measures. 



320 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

I acknowledge that fact ; but all the more will they welcome 
with gladsome greetings the man who first abolishes them. 

Who is he, indeed? He is the man who abohshed the 
rule of the camp in civil places. 

All the more ready are we, therefore, to receive into our 
hearts him who was the first to salute with his stainless sword 
the majesty of the civil law ; who was the first to bow with 
knightly crest at the bar of civil justice ; who was the first of 
all whose voice was heard crying aloud in the wilderness of 
despotism, " Make the way straight for the reign of peace and 
for the sovereignty of the people.'' 

Bethink you not, my friends, that the American people 
are so indiscriminatiug as to apprehend the embryo of a 
Brutus or the embrj^o of a Ctesar in the man who was the 
Brutus of unhallowed arbitrary power. 

Those words came to this countr}' like a sunbm-st upon a 
wintry day. They were like the springing up of a fountain 
in a desert. They were like the shadow of a great rock in a 
weary land. And long after this great Convention has passed 
away from earth, the millions who are to come after us will 
be singing upon their tongues those words which belong to 
Runn3Tiiede and the Magna Charta. The great principles of 
American liberty are stiU the lawful inheritance of this people. 
The trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the freedom of speech, 
the liberty of the press, the natural rights of persons and the 
rights of property must be preserved. 

They tell us that we, the American people, do not want 
a soldier. The greatest and best, the magistrate without a 
peer, was who? George Washington, the soldier. George 
Washington whose life had been spent in the saddle, and 
whose history is musical with the cUnking of the spur. 
Madison and Monroe were soldiers. Jackson and Harrison 
and Taylor were soldiers. Buchanan and Lincoln had both 
borne arms for the Republic. All adown the Hue of 3'our 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 321 

Presidents for one hundred years are the sparkling names of 
American soldiers. 

And why shall we not now follow the footsteps of our 
fathers and present the greatest office which this Republic can 
bestow to that great Democratic soldier who shed his blood 
for his people, jxt who proved as generous to the conquered 
as he was lo3'al to the conquering banner. 

Just one word more. The nomination of General Han- 
cock means instantaneous and continuous aggi'cssion. It 
will sound to America like a general order from the council 
of war : " We move on the enemy's works to-morrow." The 
signal sounds the advance. The bugles ring boots and sad- 
dles, the standard to the front with the nomination of Han- 
cock, and you wUl hear the tread of the moving legions. I 
am reminded here that the first man j'esterdaj', whose very 
presence in this Convention touched the heart and brought 
forth spontaneously its applause, was the soldier-statesman of 
South Carolina Nominate Winfield Scott Hancock, and let 
the last cheer of this Convention go up for the Union soldiers 
who have shown themselves so generous in welcoming us. 
Then, my friends, in this canvass, you wUl hear the hearty 
hurrah of the boys who wore the blue, mingling with the 
wild music of the rebel cheer in one grand national anthem. 
Then, my friends, the divided tribes, who, like the Romans 
of old, have come down from the mountain of secession, will 
roll in one mighty and imdivided stream for the regeneration 
of this nation. 

Then the Convention, having refused to adjourn, de- 
manded a ballot ; and the result shovs^ed Hancock's 
name at the head of the list. He received 171 votes. 
The other candidates were Senator Bayard, who re- 
ceived 153| ; Senator Thurman, 6S^ ; Judge Field, 65 ; 
Morrison, G2 ; Hendricks, 49^ ; Tilden, 38 ; Ewing, 10. 



322 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Then the Convention adjourned. When it met in 
the third day's session, Thursday, June 24, Mr. Til- 
den's name was withdrawn by the New York delegation, 
and a ballot was at once taken. When the clerk had 
reached Illinois in the call for States, the tide of ballot- 
ing was seen to set strongly toward Hancock, and from 
that moment to the close there were no votes but for 
the favorite. 

The nomination was made unanimous amid a scene 
of enthusiasm such as the oldest veterans of Democratic 
conventions had never seen. Then came the speeches 
of ratification and congratulation. The factions of the 
New York Democracy publically proclaimed their rec- 
onciliation, and on all sides there were eager voices en- 
dorsing the candidacy of the hero-statesman. Senator 
Wade Hampton said : — 

On behalf of the " Solid South"— that South which once 
was arrayed against the great soldier of Pennsjivania — in 
their name I stand here to pledge you its sohd vote. 

We wiU prove no laggards in this great race for constitu- 
tional government, for home rule, and for freedom all over 
this great land. There is no name which is held in higher 
respect among the people of the South than that of the man 
whom you have given us as our standard-bearer. 

We have met him on the field of battle. We knew then that 
he was a brave, a gallant, an able soldier, — one who always 
conducted war upon civihzed principles ; and when the war 
ended, he was among the first to extend his kindly hand to 
aid the people who had been fighting against him. We recog- 
nize that, and recognizing it, we will give him a cordial, a 
hearty, and an earnest support. And in the name of South 
Carohna — that State which has so lately emerged and come 



WLNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 323 

into the sisterhood of States — that State which was so over- 
whehningly Republican that we scarcely dared to count the 
Democratic vote, — in behalf of that State I here pledge my- 
self, if work, if zeal, if energy can do anything, I pledge the 
people of South Carohna to give as large a Democratic vote 
as any other State in this Union. 

Congressman Randall, who had himself been named 
as a candidate, said : — 

I am here to second the nomination of Pennsylvania's son. 
General Hancock. Your dehberations have been marked 
with the utmost harmony, and your act is an impress of the 
heart of the American Democrat in every State in the Union. 
Not only is your nomination strong, but it is one that wUl 
bring us victory, and we will add another State to the Dem- 
ocratic column, the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
the keystone of the Federal arch. Not only is this accept- 
able to every Democrat in the United States, but it is a 
nomination which will command the respect of the entire 
American people. 

Senator Wallace of Pennsylvania said : — 

History repeats itself. In this great city of Cincinnati the 
Democrats of the nation named their last President; and 
to-day they name the next. History repeats itself. In those 
days they named a son of Pennsylvania, and to-day again 
they inscribe upon the banners of the Democracy the name 
of the gallant son of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 
He will lead us to victory. His name is invincible. The 
word rings out: "Advance the column! Move on the 
enemy's works ! Let there be no defence, but aggression ! 
aggression ! ! aggression ! ! ! and victory is ours." 



o24 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Senator Voorhees said : — 

The spectacle of a military man subordinating the military 
power to the civil authorities, is one of the most pleasant 
spectacles of history. This General Hancock has won upon 
the heart of his country. AVashington was a soldier, but his 
greatest achievement was when he said that the laws of his 
country were above the sword and above military power. 
Hancock won renown upon many battle-fields, shed his blood 
upon many battle-fields, rode down the line as proud a figure 
in miUtary history as Marshal Ney or any other Marshal that 
ever commanded men. But his proudest act was, when 
placed in command of what was thought by our radical 
opponents, crushed, broken and rained States, he had the 
sagacity, he had the patriotism, to lift up the down-trodden 
civU authorities, to say, "Soldier that I am, the laws that 
protect freedom of speech, trial by jury, habeas corpus, shall 
be upheld by me by the sword that is in my hand." He 
spoke for civil liberty when it was overthrown throughout 
one-half of this country ; in that act he made a second 
Declaration of Independence for the Southern States. He 
made a second declaration of constitutional liberty, and set 
an example for his own and for our future generations of 
obedience to that great framework devised by our fathers, 
protected and enjoyed by us. He is worthy of your con- 
fidence. 

Thus was WiNPiELD Scott Hancock placed in nom- 
ination for the highest office in the gift of the American 
people ; and the platform of principles with which the 
Convention accompanied his nomination could set forth 
none more glorious than those great ideas of free 
popular government which his career so brilliantly 
illustrates. An honorable and upright life, filled with 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 325 

earnest and patriotic endeavor, was crowned with the 
highest honor in the gift of the great party of the 
people. 

On the loth of July, the committee appointed by 
the Democratic Convention, headed by Governor Stev- 
enaon, the chairman, waited upon General Hancock, at 
his pleasant and breezy home on Governor's Island, 
New York harbor, and formally tendered him the nomi- 
nation. In the letter conveying the official nomination, 
Governor Stevenson said : " That which chiefly inspired 
your nomination was the fact that you had conspicu- 
ously recognized and exemplified the yearning of the 
American people for reconciliation and brotherhood 
under the shield of the Constitution, with all its zeal- 
ous care and guarantees for the rights of persons and 
States." 

It is in this attitude and this character that General 
Hancock stands before the American people, — the 
soldier, patriot, and statesman whom aU honor and all 
trust. 





Cli^U^/^ 



SKETCH 

OF THE 

LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER 

OP 

WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, 

OF INDIANA. 



CHAPTER I. 

Parentage of William H. English. — Sound Democratic Stock. — His 
Boyhood Days. — Education and Admission to the Bar. — Admitted 
to Practice in the United States Supreme Court at the Age of 
Twenty-three. — He enters Politics in the Polk Campaign. — Clerk- 
ship at Washington. — The Constitutional Convention. — Elected 
to the Legislature. — Nominated as Speaker of the House. — His 
Election to that Office. 

In the little village of Lexington, Scott County, Ind., 
on the 27th of August, 1822, was born William H. 
English. The father of this child, Maj. Elisha G. Eng- 
lish, emigrated from Kentucky to Lexington in 1818, 
and was one in whom all who knew him reposed the 
highest confidence. As one of the pioneers of the 
State, he was called upon to aid in its government, as 
sheriff several times, and during twenty years a member 
of the Indiana House of Representatives or Senate, and 
for some time the United States marshal for Indiana. 

Maj. Elisha G. English died at his son's residence in 
Indianapolis, Nov. 14, 1874, and is buried in Crown 
Hill Cemetery. 

Mahala English, the mother of William H. English, 
is also a native of Kentucky, and is now residing with 
her son in Indianapolis, having attained the age of 
eighty-two years. 

The paternal grandfather of William H. English was 
Elisha English, born March 2, 1768, near Laurel, Sus- 



330 LITE AND PUBLIC CAEEEE OF 

sex County, Del. He -was married to Sarah Wharton, 
Dec. 10, 1788 ; removed to Kentucky in 1790, and 
from there to Carrollton, Greene County, 111., in 1830. 
He died at Louisville, Ky., March 7, 1857. 

Sarah Wharton English died Nov. 27, 1849, in the 
eighty-second year of her age, and left behind her the 
record of a devoted mother and noble woman. The 
inscription on the tombstone of these two people, who 
had aided in settling a State, reads : — 

' ' My father and my mother. They hved lovingly as hus- 
band and wife over sixty j'ears, and, before the tie was 
broken, could number two hundred living descendants. Their 
fourteen children all married and had children before a death 
occurred in the family. This monument is erected to their 
memory by Elisha Gr. English of Indiana." 

On his mother's side, Mr. English's grandparents 
were : Philip Eastin, a lieutenant in the Fourth Virginia 
Eegiment in the war of the American Ee volution, who 
died in the year 1817, and was buried in the Kickers 
Eidgc (or Hillis) burying-ground, near the Ohio Eiver, 
a few miles north-east of Madison, Ind. ; and Sarah 
Smith Eastin, who married Lieutenant Eastin at Win- 
chester, Va., in 1782, and died in the year 1843. 

The scenes of Mr. English's boyhood were those of 
hardy adventure and reckless daring, so familiar to the 
poincers of the West, and it is not to be wondered at 
that ho grew up strengthened by the growing strength 
cf his State, and thoroughly identified with her every 
interest. 

The boy's education was such as could be acquired at 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 331 

the common schools of the neighborhood, and a course 
of three years' study at the South Hanover College. 
During this time of study his aim was to become a 
lawyer, and so earnestly did he labor, that at the a2:e of 
eighteen he was admitted to practice in the Circuit 
Court ; shortly afterwards to the Supreme Court of the 
State ; and, in the twenty-third year of his age, to the 
Supreme Court of the United States. 

Such admission meant very much more then than it 
does now, since the examinations, under the old sys- 
tem, were very thorough, and particularly rigid ; nor 
was license in the inferior courts in that day sufficient 
to entitle one to admission to practice in the Supreme 
Court of the State. 

Mr. English had all the elements of great success at 
the bar, had he continued in the practice ; but he drifted 
into politics, and very soon into an office which kept 
him in Washington four years, and he never again 
returned to the law as a profession, even though he was 
at one time associated in practice with the well-known 
Joseph G. Marshall. 

Mr. English's inclinations led him to a political life, 
and he identified himself with the Democratic party, 
taking a prominent part in the political contests of his 
country even before he attained his majority. Some 
years before he was of age, ho was chosen as a delegate 
from Scott County to the Democratic State Convention 
held at Indianapolis ; and in that campaign he com- 
menced his real political work. 

Under the Tyler administration Mr. English was 
appointed postmaster at Lexington, and in 1843 he was 



332 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

chosen principal clerk of the House of Representatives 
of his own State, over several competitors who were 
politically very strong. 

James D. Williams, now the venerable and respected 
governor of Indiana, was then, for the first time, a 
member of the House, and he has several times made 
public mention of the fact that Mr. English then per- 
formed the same duties, and most satisfactorily, too, 
with the aid of one assistant, that in these later years 
over half a dozen are paid to perform. 

It was soon after the close of this session of the 
Legislature that the presidential canvass was opened, 
wherein the Whigs were led by Henry Clay, and the 
Democrats took up the then almost unknown James K. 
Polk. To the election of the latter gentleman, Mr. 
English contributed largely by his energy and brilliant 
work ; and after the election he was given a position in 
the Treasury Department at Washington. Inasmuch 
as he was not the man to disguise his principles, or to 
make an effort to keep a place under an administration 
in v/hich he was not in full sympathy, and as he 
voted for the nomination of Cass in the next National 
Convention, and strenuously opposed the election of 
General Taylor, he sent a letter of resignation to Mr. 
Polk, which was extensively copied by the Democratic 
press, together with comments approving the independ- 
ent spirit of its author. . 

In the National Convention of 1848, Mr. English's 
father, Elisha G. English, and his uncle, Eevel W. 
English, were vice-presidents, and two other uncles 
delegates. It was in this convention that he first met 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 333 

Samuel J. Tilden, who was then a delegate from the 
State of New York. It may also be mentioned, as 
showing the foundation-stone of Mr. English's political 
faith, that four of the English brothers were members 
of the Legislature in four different States, and all of the 
Democratic persuasion. 

Thus it will be seen that Mr. English is a Democrat 
by the sober judgment of his raaturer manhood, as well 
as by the inheritance and traditions of his family ; and 
it may be said that the commanding positions he has 
held, his large experience, and his knowledge of men 
and measures, all combine to strengthen his convictions 
that the principles of the Democratic party must pre- 
vail if we arc to have a united and prosperous country. 
His own idea of what these principles are will be best 
understood by the following vigorous and forcible 
words, uttered by him in a lately published interview : 

' ' I am for honesty iu money as in politics and morals, and 
think the great material and business interests of this country 
should be placed upon the most solid basis, and as far as pos- 
sible from the blighting influence of demagogues. At the same 
time I am opposed to class legislation, and in favor of pro- 
tecting and fostering the interests of the laboring and pro- 
ducing classes in every legitimate way possible. A pure, 
economical, constitutional government, that will protect the 
liberty of the people and the property of the people, without 
destroying the rights of the States or aggrandizing its own 
powers beyond the limits of the Constitution, is the kind of 
government contemplated by the fathers ; and by that I think 
the Democracy propose to stand." 

In the United States Senate, during the memorable 



334 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

session of the compromise of 1850, when Calhoun and 
Cass, Clay and Webster, and other great statesmen of 
the day vied with each other in those able forensic 
efforts which obtained so much celebrity, and led to 
the results so gratifying to every American patriot, 
Mr. Eno-lish was a clerk of the Claims Committee. It 
was the pure patriotism of such men as were in the 
Senate at that time, the grandeur of their eloquence, 
and the far-reaching benetits of the measures proposed 
and advocated, that left such a fadeless impression on 
Mr. English's mind as inspired his ambition, broadened 
his views, and contributed largely in giving him influ- 
ence in the councils of the nation when he became a 
member of the National Legislature. 

At the close of this extraordinary session he resigned 
his position, and returned to his home ; but only to be 
called to more labor in the interest of his country. 

The people of Indiana had just decided to call a 
Convention to revise the State Constitution, which had 
been adopted in 1816 ; and, after an existence of over 
a third of a century, the adoption of a new Constitu- 
tion, in accord with the spirit of the times, was ap- 
proached with much caution. Every one felt the neces- 
sity of confiding the trust to the wisest and best men 
in the State; and it is doubtful whether a superior 
body of men ever assembled for a like purpose than 
that which assembled at Indianapolis, in October, 1850, 
to prepare a Constitution for the State of Indiana. 
Mr. English had the honor of being elected the prin- 
cipal Secretary of the Convention, and of officially 
attesting the Constitution, which was prepared by the 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 335 

Convention after over four months' deliberation, and 
which was ratified by an overwhelming vote of the 
people. 

At the adjournment, the Convention assigned to 
Mr. English the important trust of supervising the 
publication of the Constitution, the journals, addresses, 
etc. As Secretary of the Convention, he added largely 
to his reputation, and the fact was recognized that his 
abiUties were of a character to command a wider 
sphere of usefulness to the party and to the country. 

The adoption of the new Constitution made a neces- 
sity for a thorough revision of the laws of the State, 
and the same high order of talent was needed to mould 
the laws as had been required to prepare the Constitu- 
tion itself. It was, therefore, a signal honor to Mr. 
English, that he was elected, in 1851, to represent his 
native county in the State Legislature against an oppo- 
sition majority, and over a competitor considered the 
strongest and most popular man of his party in the 
county. This was the first meeting of the Legislature 
under the provisions of the new Constitution^ and 
judgment and discretion were required of the Legis- 
lature to put the new State machinery into harmonious 
and successful operation. Therefore, it was no small 
compliment to so young man as Mr. English, to have 
been chosen over so many older and more experienced 
citizens. 

But this was not the only honor which was to be his. 
Notwithstanding the fact that he was but twenty-nine 
years of age, that it was his first session as a member, 
and that there were many old and distinguished men in 



336 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAEEER OF 

that Legislature, when the caucus to nominate a 
Speaker was held, he received twenty-two votes to 
thirtj^-one for Hon. John W. Davis, who had long been 
a member and Speaker of the United States House of 
Representatives, and had also been Minister to China. 

Early in the session, on a disagreement between the 
House and Speaker Davis, he called Mr. English to 
the chair, and resigned the position of Speaker. The 
next day Mr. English was elected by twenty-eight 
majority, and it may be mentioned as an evidence of 
his popularity as a presiding officer, that during his 
long term of service — over three months — no appeal 
was taken from any of his decisions. And this is the 
more remarkable since it was the first session under 
the new Constitution, when many new points had to be 
decided. 

Previous to the election of Mr. English as Spaeker, 
he was selected by Speaker Davis as one of a com- 
mittee of live to revise the laws of the State, but 
declined. But many radical and highly beneficial 
reforms in the laws of the State were made at this ses- 
sion, to the success of which INlr. English largely con* 
tributed, and which, in some instances, he originated , 
such as the change in the system of taxing railroads, 
and the substitution of the present short form of deeds, 
mortgages, etc., for long and intricate forms. 

Mr. English has, in an eminent degree, that force 
and energy of character which lead to successful action, 
and has left his impress upon the measures of every 
deliberative body, company, or association to which he 
has belonged. In a word, he has all the elements of a 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 337 

bold, aggressive, and successful leadership. If lost 
with a multitude in a pathless wilderness, he would 
not lag behind waiting for some one else to open uf) 
the path of escape. He would be more apt to promptly 
advise which was the best way out, or to make the 
road himself and call upon his comrades to follow. 



338 LITE AND PUBLIC CAKEER Or 



CHAPTER n. 

Election to Congress. — The Famous Kansas-Nebraska Bill and Mr 
English's Action Thereon. — The "Popular Sovereignty" Idea. — 
Relations with Douglas. — Mr. English's Position on the Slavery 
Question. — His Second Election to Congress. — Labor against 
Know-Nothingism. — Eegent of the Smithsonian Institute. — Third 
Election to Congress. — The Slavery Agitation and Lecompton Con- 
stitution. — The "English Bill" and its Author's Views upon it. 

It was at the close of the long session of the Legis- 
lature of 1851, after he had won the highest praise from 
men of both parties, and was looked upon by the Dem- 
ocrats as a man of sound political views and unswerv- 
ing integrity, that he was asked to allow his name to be 
used for the Congressional election. Consenting, he 
was nominated, and in October, 1852, elected by 488 
majority over John D. Ferguson. 

Mr. Eno-lish entered Cono-ress at the commencement 
of Mr. Pierce's administration, and gave its political 
measures the same sui)port that he had shown during the 
election, in which he aided to no slight extent. 

Resrardinj? the time and the man, an eminent writer 
has said : — 

' ' It was a memorable period in the history of the country ; 
a time when questions of far-reaehiug consequences had their 
birth ; and which a few ^-ears subsequently tested to the 
utmost limit the strength of the Republic. It was the time 
for the display of unselfish patriotism, lofty purpose, moral 
courage, and unwavering devotion to the Constitution. Mr. 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 339 

English met the demand. He was equal to the responsibility 
of the occasion. He never disappointed his constituents, his 
part}^ or his country. He displayed his national qualities of 
prudence, sagacity, and firmness." 

At the opening of this Congress the famous Kansas- 
Nebraska bill was introduced. Mr. English was a mem- 
ber of the House Committee on Territories, which was 
charged with the consideration and report of the bill ; 
he did not concur with the majority of the committee in 
the propriety and expediency of bringing forward the 
measure at that time, and made a minority report on 
Jan. 31, 1854, proposing several important amendments, 
which, although not directly adopted, for reasons here- 
after explained, probably led to modifications of the bill 
of the Senate, which bill was finally adopted as an 
amendment to the House bill, and enacted into a law. 
Both the House and Senate bill, at the time Mr. English 
made his minority report, contained a provision " that 
the Constitution, and all laws of the United States 
which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same 
force and efiect within the said territory as elsewhere 
in the United States ;" and then followed this important 
reservation : — 

" Except the eighth section of this act preparatory to the 
admission of Missoui'i into the Union, approved March 6, 
1820, which was superseded by the principles of the legisla- 
tion of 1850, commonly called the compromise measures, 
and is hereby declared inoperative." 

Mr. English proposed to strike out this exception 
and insert the following ; — 



340 - LIFE AJS^D PUBLIC CAREER OF 

" Provided^ That nothing in this act shall be so construed 
as to prevent the people of said territory', through the prop- 
erly constituted legislative author! t}^ from passing such laws 
in relation to the institution of slavery, not inconsistent with 
the Constitution of the United States, as they may deem best 
adapted to their locality, and most conducive to theu' happi- 
ness and Avellare ; and so much of any existing act of Con- 
gress as may conflict with the above right of the people to 
regulate theii' domestic institutions in their own way, be, and 
the same is, hereby repealed." 

Mr. Greeley, in his "American Conflict," expresses 
the belief that this proposition of Mr. English could 
not have been defeated on the call of the yeas and 
nays ; and the author explains and condemns the new 
and ingenious parliamentary manoeuvre resorted to at 
the time, Avhicli cut off all amendments but the substi- 
tution of the Senate bill for the bill of the House. The 
parliamentary mancEUvre referred to, brought the House 
to a vote on the Senate bill, which, in the meantime, 
had been offered as a substitute for the House bill, and 
it was adopted and became the law. On February 7, 
the Senate adopted an amendment, very similar in 
purpose, offered by Senator Douglas. 

Senator Douglas was justly regarded as the great 
leader and champion of the " popular sovereignty " 
idea. So far as the advocacy of that principle was 
concerned, Mr. English was with him, and it will not 
be out of place to state here, that although some slight 
political diflerences ultimately sprang up between them 
in relation to the "English Bill," they were always 
personal friends, and for man}^ years the relations 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 341 

between them were of the most intimate character. As 
far back as 1845, iMr. Douglas wrote President Polk, 
urging that Mr. English be appointed Recorder in the 
general land office ; and Mr. English has many letters 
from Mr. Douglas expressing the most cordial friend- 
ship. 

During the eight years immediately preceding the 
war, Mr. English was in Congress, and more or less 
identified with the measures involving the question of 
slavery, and his opinion on the question can best be 
given in extracts from his own speeches : — 

" I am a native of a free State, aud have no love for the 
institution of slavery. Aside from the moral question in- 
volved, I regard it as au injury to the State where it exists, 
and if it were proposed to introduce it where I reside, would 
resist it to the last extremity." 

Again he says, when speaking of the slaveholding 
States : — 

"They are the best judges of the soil, aud climate, and 
wants of the country they inhabit ; they are the true judges 
of what will best suit their own condition, aud promote their 
welfare and Iiappiuess." 

On another occasion, speaking for himself and his 
constituency, he said : — 

"We do not like this institution of slaver^', neither in its 
moral, social, nor political bearings, but consider that it is a 
matter which, lilcc all other domestic affairs, each organized 
community ought to be allowed to decide for itself." 



342 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

The idea of "leaving the people of every State and 
Territory perfectly free to form and regulate their 
domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to 
the Constitution of the United States," seemed to be in 
accordance with the genius of our American institu- 
tions ; but the storm raised by the passage of the 
Kansas-Nebraska bill, resulted in the defeat of nearly 
all the members from the free States who voted for it. 
In fact, Mr. English was one of only three in the 
country who had sufficient strength to survive the 
storm. 

He was unanimously nominated for re-election to 
Congress, and elected by a majority of five hundred 
and eighty-eight over the "Whig and Know-Nothing 
opponent. Judge Thomas C. Slaughter. 

It was during Mr. English's congressional career 
that the country was visited by the fanatical cyclone, 
known as Know-Nothingism, and he threw himself, in a 
spirit of self-abnegation, into the work of crushing it 
out, until he won the applause of all right-thinking men, 
and proved to the foreign-born citizens that he was their 
friend indeed. A native of Indiana, spealdng of Mr. 
EngKsh's work in this direction, says : — 

''It was a Democratk' victoiy to which no man in the 
nation contributed more than did William H. English in his 
gallant canvass against the Know-Nothings in the Second 
Congressional disti'ict of Indiana in 1854." 

Mr. English was a Regent of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tute for eight years, and during the Thirty-fourth Con- 
gress made a speech in defence of the management of 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 343 

the institution, which was highly commended by many 
eminent scientific gentlemen. Mr. Charles Henry 
Davis went so far as to A\Tite a letter in which he said 
that Mr. English was entitled to "the gratitude and 
friendly regard of every scientific man in the country 
whose opinions are thought worth repeating." 

At the end of Mr. English's second term, he avowed 
his intention of retiring from public life, and requested 
his constituents to select some other candidate. The 
convention met to nominate his successor, and, after 
balloting forty-two times without making a choice, 
finally determined, unanimously, to insist upon Mr. 
Enoflish takino; the field for the third time. He reluc- 
tantly consented to this, and was elected by a still larger 
majority than before. 

It was during his third term that Speaker Orr ap- 
pointed him to the important and arduous position of 
chairman of the Committee on Post-offices and Post- 
roads. 

In the meantime, the agitation of the slavery question 
continued, and the Kansas controversy assumed a new 
and more dangerous aspect than ever. It was during 
this Congress that, by his course upon the Kansas 
policy of the administration, Mr. English acquired 
his widest reputation. He steadily and firmly opposed 
the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Consti- 
tution, until it had been ratified by a vote of the 
people. 

In a speech delivered by him in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, he clearly defined his position. " I think," 
said he, "before Kansas is admitted, her people ought 



344 LITE AND PUBLIC CAEEER OF 

to ratify, or, at least, have a fair opportunity to vote 
upon the Constitution under which it is proposed to 
admit her. At the same time, I am not so wedded to 
any particular plan that I may not, for the sake of 
harmony, and as a choice of evils, make reasonable con- 
cessions, provided the substance would be secured, 
w^hich is the making of the Constitution, at an early day, 
conform to the public will, or, at least, that the privi- 
lege and opportunity of so making it be secured to the 
people beyond all question. Less than this would not 
satisfy the expectations of my constituents, and I would 
not betray their wishes for any earthl}^ considerations. 
If, on the other hand, all reasonable compromises are 
voted down, and I am brought to vote upon the naked 
and unqualified admission of Kansas under the Lecomp- 
ton Constitution, I distinctly declare that I cannot, in 
conscience, vote for it." 

During the long and exciting contest over this ques- 
tion, Mr. English never departed from the position 
taken in this speech. He was " Anti-Lecompton," but 
not of those who wished to cripple the administration 
or break up the Democratic organization. He boldly 
and eloquently appealed to his Southern colleagues. 
Alludinof to the recent defeat of the Democracy at the 
iSorth, he said : — 

"It shouki not be forgotten, that when we men of the 
North went forth to encounter this fearful arm}' of fanatics, — 
this great army of Abolitionists, Know-Nothings, and Republi- 
cans combined, — you, gentlemen of the South, were at home at 
your ease, because you had not run counter to the sjonpathies 
and popular sentiments of your people : you went with the 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 345 

current ; we against it. We risked everything ; you compara- 
tively nothing ; and now I appeal to you, whether, for the 
sake of an empty triumph, of no permanent benefit to you or 
your ' peculiar institution,' you will turn a deaf ear to our 
earnest entreaties for such au adjustment of this question as 
will enable us to respect the wishes of our constituents, and 
maintain the union and integrity of our party at home ? Look 
to it, ye men of the South, that you do not, for a mere shadow, 
strike down or drive from you your only effective support 
outside the limits of your own States." 

On this bill an issue was formed between the great 
co-ordinate branches of the government, whose joint 
and harmonious action could alone remove the danger- 
ous question and give peace to the country. 

At this stage of proceedings, when there appeared no 
hope for a settlement of the disagreement between the 
two Houses, and there was every chance that the angry 
contest would be adjourned for further and protracted 
agitation before a people alre?idy inflamed with sectional 
animosities, Mr. English moved to concur in the propo- 
sition of the Senate, asking for a committee of free con- 
ference. The motion was adopted by the deciding vote 
of the Speaker, and the committee on the part of the 
House was composed of W. H. English of Indiana, A. 
H. Stephens of Georgia, and W. A. Howard of Michi- 
gan. On the part of the Senate, the committee was 
J. S. Greene of Missouri, R. M. T. Hunter of Vir- 
ginia, and W. H. Seward of New York. 

As the Senate had asked for the conference, the 
managers on behalf of that branch of Congress were 
informed by Mr. English that propositions for a com- 



346 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

promise must first come from them. . If they had none 
to ofier, the managers on the part of the House had 
none, and the conference would hnmediately terminate. 
The managers on the part of the Senate made several 
propositions, none of which, however, were acceptable 
to the members on behalf of the House. 

The Senate committee then asked the members from 
the House if they had any compromise to offer, to which 
Mr. English replied that he had none prepared ; but he 
had a plan in his mind, based, however, upon the prin- 
ciple of a submission of the question of admission under 
the Lecompton Constitution and an amended ordinance 
to a fair vote of the people of Kansas ; and if the com- 
mittee thought it worth while, he would prepare it, and 
submit it to them at their next meeting. They told 
him to do so. This was the origin of the great Kansas 
compromise measure, commonly called the "English 
Bill," which finally passed both branches of Congress 
and became the law. 

This law was, in efiect, to place it in the power of 
the people of Kansas to come into the Union under the 
Lecompton Constitution or not, as they might them- 
selves determine at a fair election. 

Mr. Buchanan, the President, was highly gratified, 
and wrote to Mr. English : — 

"I consider the present occasion the most fortunate of 
your life. It will be your fate to end the dangerous agita- 
tion, to confer lasting benefits on your country, and to rendei 
your character historical. I shall remain always your friend." 

The night after the passage of the bill great rejoic- 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 347 

ings were held in Washington, and both the President 
and Mr. English were serenaded. In the course of Mr. 
English's remarks on the occasion, he said : — 

" Let us all stand together in this great confederacy as 
equals, each State having the right to regulate its own 
domestic institutions in its own way ; and let us apply this 
doctx'ine not only to Kansas, but to all the Territories which 
may come into this Union for all time to come. That is the 
doctrine of the Democratic party ; and when that party is 
struck down, the best interests of the couutr^^ will be struck 
down. Stop this agitation and let us act, not hke visionary 
fanatics, but practical men. Let well enough alone, and 
leave the solution of this matter to time and Providence. If 
we cannot stand upon the doctrine of non-intervention, where 
can we stand in safety? 

' ' I am here as one of the representatives of a western 
State. It is a conservative State ; it is the one which gave 
the largest majority of any one in the North for President. 
I know that it is the feeling of the people of Indiana that 
the interests and rights of the South should never be trodden 
under foot. We do not intend to surrender any of our rights, 
and we do not believe that the people of the South desire to 
trespass i;pon our rights ; if they did, we should rise up as 
one man to resist it, and we would resist it to the last. WhUe 
we shaU be careful to protect our rights, we shall be equally 
careful not to trespass upon the rights of our brethren in 
other States. Upon such broad, national grounds as this we 
can all stand ; and if we do, this confederacy will continue 
increasing in prosperity and glory> AVe must discard all 
these sectional ideas. We must cultivate a greater feeling 
of respect and sympathy for each other, and for those of 
different sections ; and I trust and hope this is the dawn of 
a new era. I trust and hope we shall hear no more of these 



348 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

sectional agitations. Every good man and lover of this 
country ought to set his face against them. I speak the 
sentiment of the entire Democracy of my State when I say 
that we will do battle faithfully to protect the rights of the 
people of ever}' portion of the confederacy, and that we shall 
stand by the Constitution and the Union to the last." 

The " English Bill " was never exactly as its author 
would have had it. In a speech made some time after 
its passage, Mr. English says : — 

' ' It was not to be expected that a bill upon a subject of so 
much magnitude, preceded by such intense excitement, long 
and heated debates, close votes, and conflicts between co- 
ordinate branches of the Government, could be enacted into 
a law in a manner satisfactory to all, or without violent op- 
position. Nothing in man's nature, or the history of the 
past, warranted such expectation. Thirty millions of ex- 
cited people are not easily quieted, and a question which 
could agitate a whole nation was not lilicly to be removed 
without a struggle and some sacrifice of opinion. 

*' These things will all be considered by those who are 
disposed to judge fairly. Wise and patriotic men could well 
approve of a measm'c, originating under such circumstances, 
which they would have objected to as an original proposition. 
I am free to sa}-, that if the bill had been an original proposi- 
tion, depending alone upon my approval to shape into a law, 
I should, without sacrificing its substance, have changed in 
some respects some of its provisions. It was no time, how- 
ever, to cavil about non-essential points, or unimportant 
words ; no time to manifest a captious or dogmatical dis- 
position. A little might weU be yielded to the judgment of 
others, if necessar}* to achieve a successful result in a matter 
of such importance. 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 349 

" Perfection in every respect was not claimed for the con- 
ference bill. Its friends set up no unreasonable or extrava- 
gant pretensions in its behalf, and they now have the proud 
satisfaction of knowing that it has realized all they ever 
claimed for it. It was enough that it contained the sub- 
stance, and was the very best that could be secured at the 
time and under the cuTumstances which then existed. 

' ' In that spirit it was agreed to in committee ; in that 
spirit enacted into a law. It sprang from the necessity of 
the case, and was supported in the hope of reconciliation and 
peace. If those who gave it their support erred, it was in 
yielding too much in the praiseworthy effort of removing a 
dangerous question from the national councUs and restoring 
harmon}' to a highly excited people." 

Under this law, the question of admission under the 
Lecompton Constitution w^as, in effect, referred back to 
the people of Kansas, and they voted against it, as v^as 
expected. 

Thus the result was accomplished which Mr. English 
had contended for from the beginning, and there is no 
inconsistency in his record upon this subject. On the 
final vote which admitted Kansas as a State, he was 
still a member, and voted for her admission. 



350 LITE AI^D PUBLIC CAEEEE OF 



CHAPTER in. 

Two Notable Contests for Speakership. — Letter from President 
Buclianan. — Refusing Political Honors. — Elected to Congress the 
Fourth Time. — The Shadow of the Civil War. — Mr. English's 
Position. — His Speech to the Southern Members. — Retirement 
from Public Life. — Founder of the First National Bank of Indian- 
apolis. — During the Panic of 1873. — Views on the Money 
Question. 

There were two notable contests for the speakership 
during Mr. English's service in Congress, which are 
likel}^ to live in history. The first was at the beginning 
of the Thirty-fourth Congress, when the Know-Nothing 
party held a small balance of power, and which, after 
a fierce and protracted struggle, resulted in the election 
of N. P. Banks. 

The second one took place at the beginning of the 
Thirty-sixth Congress, when John Sherman was nomi- 
nated by the Republicans for speaker ; and, after two 
months, Governor Pennington Avas finally elected. 

One extract from a speech made by Mr. English at 
this time should be preserved, since it refers to his 
political career. He said : — 

" Those Avho are acquainted with mj' persoual and political 
histoiy know that I have never belonged to, or sympathized 
with, any other than the Democratic party. I have stood 
with that party against all the political organizations that 
have from time to time been arrayed against it. When the 
old Whig party existed, I opposed it upon those issues which 



WILLIAJI H. ENGLISH. 351 

have become obsolete, and are no longer before the country. 
Upon the great question of slavery, which is the vital ques- 
tion of this day, I stand where the Democracy stood, and 
the "WTiig part}-- stood, as long as the Whig party had an 
existence. 

" Upon the advent of the Know-Nothiug or American partj^, 
I opposed it persistently, and particularly the peculiar doc- 
trines of that party in relation to naturalization and religion. 
My views upon these subjects have undergone no change. I 
am for our naturalization laws as they stand, and for the 
entire freedom of religious belief; and would resist, to the 
last, any infringement upon the one or the other." 

In the ensuing political campaign, after the passage 
of the " English Bill," Mr. English was again nominated 
for Congress ; and the contest in his district assumed a 
national importance. President Buchanan wrote him 
many letters of encouragement, and in one he said : — 

' ' I omit no opportunity of expressing my opinion of how 
much the country owes you for the English amendment. 
Having lost the bill of the vSenate, whicli I preferred, the 
country would have been in a sad condition, had it not been 
relieved by your measure. It is painful even to think of what 
would have been the alarming condition of the Union, had 
Congress adjourned without passing your amendment. I 
trust 3'ou will have no difficulty iu being renominated and re- 
elected. If I had a thousand votes, you should have them 
all with a hearty good will." 

It was after the passage of the " English Bill '" that 
the President offered to confer the highest political 
honors upon Mr. English ; but he declined to receive 



352 LITE AND PUBLIC CAEEER OF 

any executive appointment. The same offer of favors 
was made by President Johnson. In the former case, 
Mr. English felt that his acceptance might be misunder- 
stood ; and he preferred remaining an independent 
representative of the people. 

The election of 1858 resulted in the return of Mr. 
English to Congress by a larger majority than ever. 
There had been no change in the boundaries of his 
district ; but his career in this, as in ever^i;hing else, 
had been upward and onward, his majority gradually 
increasing at each election, from 488 in 1852 to 1,812 
in 1858, and this at a time when Democratic congress- 
men were almost swept out of existence in the Northern 
States. 

In the meantime, the shadows of the great civil war 
beo:an to deepen, and Mr. English was a member of the 
national campaign committee. The approaching Demo- 
cratic Convention at Charleston, S. C, was such an 
event as the nation looked forward to with anxiety. 
Mr, English went to Charleston, not as a delegate, but 
as a peace-maker ; and, if his advice, and the advice of 
such prudent and practical men as he, had been fol- 
lowed, there would have been but one Democratic 
Presidential ticket, and such a conservative, patriotic 
platform as would probably have been successful. 

Mr. English's labors in the behalf of harmony and 
of the safety of the country were in vain ; and he re- 
turned to Washington greatly discouraged. In Con- 
gress, just before the breaking up at Charleston, and 
when public feeling was at its height, Mr. English 
made a great speech, full of wisdom and of sadness. 
He commenced by saying ; — 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 353 

" If I were to speak upon the topics which seem to be 
absorbing the attention of everybody now, it would be upon 
the scenes that have been enacted, and the events which are 
transpiring, at Charleston. 

" I may be permitted to say, sir, upon this subject of the 
Presidency, that I have but little sympath}' with those who 
imperiously demand ' Caesar or nobody ; ' no sympathy with 
that rule-or-ruin spirit wliich has been exhibited too much of 
late in both wings of the Democratic party, and to which may 
justly be attributed whatever difficulties now exist. 

"I shall not attempt, on the present occasion, to charac- 
terize this rule-or-ruin spirit in that language I conceive it so 
justly merits ; but I venture to predict that, if disaster or 
serious trouble ensues, the masses of the Democratic party 
never will forgive, as they never ought to forgive, those who 
will have needlessly precipitated this state of affau's upon the 
country. 

" It is not to be denied that, just at this time, dark and 
ominous clovids seem to be ' lowering over our house ; ' but I 
have an abiding faith that these clouds will soon break away, 
and leave the glorious sun of Democracy shining brightly as 
ever. 

' ' Sir, mere political storms have no terror for me or for 
the great party to wliich I belong ; and, for the present, I 
shall go upon the supposition that whatever storms may have 
prevailed at Charleston were necessary for the purit_y and 
healthfulness of the political atmosphere, as natural storms 
are known to be for a like purpose in the physical world." 

When the movement on the part of the South for 
dissolution came, Mr. English was for pacification if 
possible, and favored every measure tending to that 
result. 

In a speech in the House, he told the South, that 



354 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAKEER OF 

" the great Democratic party, that has so long and so 
justly boasted of its nationality, must not degenerate 
into a mere Southern sectional party, or a party that 
tolerates the sentiment of disunion ; if it does, its days 
are numbered and its mission ended." 

In alluding to the folly of the South in attempting to 
break up the Union, because of the election of a sec- 
tional man to the President's chair, he told them that 
not even a corporal's guard of Northern men would go 
with them out of the Union for such a cause, and that 
his constituents would only " march under the flag, and 
keep step to the music of the Union." Then pointedly 
addressing the Southern members, he said ; — 

" Looking at this matter from the particular stand-point 
you oecnpy, it is to be feared j'ou have not alwaj's properly 
appreciated the position of the Free-State Democracy, or the 
perils which would cuati'ou them in the event of a resort to 
the extreme measures to which I refer. Would 3'ou expect 
us in such an event to go with you out of the Union ? If so, 
let me tell you frankly, your expectations will never be real- 
ized. Collectively, as States, it would be impossible, and as 
individuals, inadmissible ; because it would involve innumer- 
able sacrifices, and a severance of tliose sacred ties which 
bind every man to his own immediate country, and which, as 
patriots, we never would surrender." 

The crisis of the great American conflict came, de- 
spite all his eflbrts, and he resolved to retire from polit- 
ical life, having served four continuous terms. The 
convention which nominated his successor, adopted 
the following resolution : — 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 355 

Resolved, That in selecting a candidate to represent this 
district in the Thirty-seventh Congress, we deem it a proper 
occasion to express the respect and esteem we entertain for 
our present member, Hon. W. H. EngHsh, and our confi- 
dence in him as a public officer. In his retirement, in ac- 
cordance with his weU-known wishes, from the position of 
representative, which he has long filled with credit to him- 
self and benefit to the country, we heartily greet him with 
the plaudit, " Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 

After his retirement Mr. English was oflered the 
command of a regiment by Governor Morton ; but he 
declined. He took no active part in the war, though 
he was a firm and consistent supporter of the Union 
cause. The Madison " Courier," a paper of opposite 
political views from Mr. English, gives the following 
account of a speech made by him : — 

" Mr. English spoke for over an hour. He said that he 
had informed Southern men more than a year ago, in a speech 
in Congress, that he disapproved of secession in toto, and 
that it could never have his countenance and support. It 
was also well known that he was opposed to the Republican 
doctrines, and should boldly assail Mr. Lincoln's policy when- 
ever he thought it wrong ; but as a native of Indiana, thor- 
oughly identified with Free-State interests, he felt that his 
allegiance was exclusively due to the State of Indiana and 
Government of the United States, and he should accordingh^ 
abide in good faith by then- laws, and stand under the old 
lime-honored flag. 

' ' He trusted that the bitter cup of civil war might be 
passed froni' our lips, and he would exhaust evsry possible 
means of maintaining the peace ; but if nothing will do but 
war, then we raust all stand or faU together." 



356 T.TFE AND PUBLIC CAKEER OF 

In the spring of 1863, Mr. English removed to Ind- 
ianapolis, and there founded the First National Bank of 
Indianapolis, which was among the first organized in 
the United States under the National s\'stem, and the 
very first to get out its circulation. 

A convention of bankers from all parts of the United 
States was held in the spring of 1876, and Mr. Eng- 
lish was chosen as one of the committee to appear 
before and address a committee of Congress upon 
certain matters of finance. 

For more than fourteen years Mr. English presided 
over the bank he had founded, with remarkable ability 
and fidelity; but on the 25th of July, 1877, he re- 
signed, having become so much broken down in health 
that it was necessar}^ for him to go to a Avarmer chmate. 
The stockholders and directors accepted his resigna- 
tion with deep regret, and adopted the following reso- 
lutions : — 

Resolved^ That the directors and stockholders of this bank 
sincerely regret the causes which impel the resignation of the 
Hon. William H. English, so long president of this institution, 
and that in accepting the same they desire to express then- 
thanks to him for the ver^^ great financial ability, constant 
watchfulness, and perfect fidelity with which he has managed 
it from its organization to the present time. 

Resolved, That the executive committee of the board be 
directed to have prepared, and present to him a suitable 
testimonial as a memento of our personal regard and esteem, 
and that he cany with him our most sincere wishes for a long 
life of usefulness and happiness. 

In pursuance of the latter resolution there was 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 357 

presented to Mr. English a magnificent gold medal, 
with profuse symbolical ornaments in the highest style 
of art, bearing on the one side the words, "Fortitude, 
Strength, Fidelity," and on the reverse the following 
inscription: — "Presented to Hon. Wm. H. English, 
founder, and over fourteen years President of the First 
National Bank of Indianapolis, as a memento of the 
personal esteem of the Stockholders and Directors, 
and their high appreciation of his very great financial 
ability, constant watchfulness, and perfect fidelity, July 
23, 1877," 

Soon after Mr. English retired from the bank ho 
sold out his stock and now does not own a dollar of 
stock in any corporation. 

During the financial panic of 1873 he did very much 
to prevent disaster to the Indianapolis banks ; and the 
leading newspaper, " The People," said of him at that 
time : — 

' ' His conduct throughout the panic proved that his heart 
was in the right place ; that the best interests of the city 
were in his thoughts ; that he had the nerve and the will to 
sink self, and proffer aid to those needing it." 

Mr, English has always been a fearless advocate of 
honest money, and his views on the subject can best be 
explained in his own words, spoken at a recent inter- 
view : — 

" For myself, I want our mone_y to rank with the same 
standard recognized by all the great commercial nations of 
the world. I want no depreciated or ii-redeemable paper 



^58 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

forced upon our people. I want the laboring man, when pay- 
day conies, to be paid in real dollars, that wUl purchase just 
as much of the necessaries of life as the dollars paid to 
bondholders or office-holders, and with as great purchasing 
powers as the best money in the best markets of the world. 
Honest}', in my judgment, is the best policy in finance and 
politics, as well as in morals generally, and if politicians 
would take half as much trouble to instruct and enlighten the 
masses that they do to take advantage of their supposed 
prejudices, it would be far better." 

Even though Mr. English refused to accept any 
further office, he did not cease to take an interest in 
public affairs. He was a delegate to the State Conven- 
tion in 1861, and in 1862 it was hoped that he would 
allow his name to be used as a candidate for Congress. 
In his published letter of refusal, he said : — 

" It is perhaps superfluous for me to add that, as a private 
citizen, neither seeking nor desiring office, I shall exert what- 
ever of influence I possess to maintain the Constitution and 
the Union and speedUy suppress the Rebellion. We must 
not allow ourselves to be driven from correct principles by 
any amount of misrepresentation, or even persecution. 

" I would sa}', let us firmly stand together under the old 
flag and in the old organization, fighting secessionism to the 
bitter end, assailing the administration wherever we conscien- 
tiously believe it to be in error, but upholding the Constitution 
and laws, and never losing sight of that great historical fact, 
which cannot be overcome by misrepresentation or abuse ; and 
that is, that under the rule of the Democracy the country 
grew to be one of the greatest nations of the earth, and as 
long as they held power the people of aU the States were 
prosperous and happy." 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 359 

In 1864 he was a delegate to the Congressional 
Convention that nominated Michael C. Kerr to Con- 
gress. He also advocated McClellan's claims to the 
Presidency, and it was he who introduced a resolution 
declaring, "that we are now, as we ever have been, 
unqualifiedly in favor of the union of the States, under 
the Constitution ; and stand ready, as we have ever 
stood heretofore, to do everything that loyal and true 
citizens should do to maintain that union under the 
Constitution, and to hand it down to our children unim- 
paired as we received it from our fathers." 

The business in which Mr. English was engaged 
continued to increase until it absorbed all his time, and 
he could give but little attention to political matters ; 
but he was a firm friend and supporter of Governor 
Tilden, and presided at the meeting held at Indianap- 
olis, ratifying the nomination of Tilden and Hendricks. 
Then he said : — 

" It is known to you, fellow-citizens, that I have not of 
late years been an active participant in political affairs. Pre- 
ferring the quiet pursuits of private life and intending not to 
be drawn into the turmoils of active politics, I nevertheless 
am not an indifferent spectator in this contest, and certainly 
do not forget the past. I do not forget that I was born a 
Democrat ; was long an earnest, hard- working member of the 
party, always a finn believer in its great cardinal principles, 
and frequently a recipient of its favor at a time when such 
favors were to me of inestimable value. With such antece- 
dents and a heart which I know is not incapable of gratitude, 
I could not be indifferent to the fate of this grand old party, 
and, although in bad health and shrinking from appearing as 
a participant in a public political meeting, I could not forego 



360 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAEEER OE 

the pressing call that was made upon me to preside upon this 
occasion ; because I sincerely believe that the time has arrived 
when the welfare of the people demands thorough reform in 
the affairs of the general government, and that such I'eform 
can now ouh^ be certainly and effectively secured b}^ the 
election of TUden and Hendi'icks. But I do not wish it 
understood that I am here to-night in a mere partisan capac- 
ity, claiming that everjthiug called Democratic must neces- 
saril}^ be good, and ever^iihing called Republican necessarily 
bad. On the contrary, I congi-atulate the Republican party 
upon having nominated good men for candidates at Cincin- 
nati, and placing them upon a creditable platform, but^I 
congratulate the Democratic party still more upon having 
nominated better men upon a better platform." 

The Indiana Democracy felt, at the time of the St. 
Louis platform, considerable dissatisfaction because Mr. 
Hendricks had not been nominated for President, and 
because of the financial views of the platform. Mr. 
English's speech had a good eflect, for he adroitly said : 

' " It was natural that in the excitement of the moment 
some Indiana Democrats should have felt dissatisfied; but 
most of those have become reconciled, and not only support 
the ticket now, but stand squarely upon the platform. The 
few who have not yet got on the platform wiU hurry to get 
on board before the lightning-express train of the Democrac}' 
is fairly under way, because the}'^ know that train is bound to 
come in ahead, and that it is dangerous to get on the platform 
when the cars are in motion. Never fear but all the boys 
will get on board in due season, for they are not going to be 
left behind in this grand Democratic march to victory. 

"Even the camp-followers, the dodgers and the trimmers, 
•who hang on the outskirts of the party, distracting its 



WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 361 

counsels and marring its harmony by disparaging the plat- 
form for the sake of a little local popularity, wiU be clamoring 
to get upon it, as it becomes more and more evident it is 
going to be adopted by the people." 

The financial trouble he managed with like sagacity : 

" I contend there is nothing in the St. Louis platform upon 
the subject of the finances about which Democrats should 
differ. It favors the repeal of that clause of the act of Con- 
gress which fixes a certain day for the resumption of specie 
payments. It repudiates a changeable standard of values, 
and advocates that standard which is recognized in om* own 
Constitution as well as by the whole civilized world. It 
proposes to secure to our own people real dollars that shall 
have as much purchasing power as the dollars of other 
nations. It secures to the farmer, the mechanic, and the 
laborer a dollar that will have as great a purchasing power 
as the dollar of the bondholder. It secui-es to the manu- 
factiu'er and the man of business that reasonable degi'ee of 
certainty as to the financial future which will enable him to 
make investments and engage in business with some intel- 
ligence and feeling of security, which he never can have with a 
changeable standard of values. It short, it but reaffirms the 
old and tune-honored doctrine of the Democratic party in 
favor of a currency of specie and paper convertible into 
specie on demand. It is true the platform places the Demo- 
cratic party fairly and squarely upon the road to specie 
payments ; but it does not propose to accomplish it by such 
hasty and inconsiderate legislation as will be unnecessarily 
oppressive to creditors or injurious to business." 

Mr. English lives in Indianapolis, in a fine residence, 
which fronts a beautiful circular park, known as the 



362 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

"Governor's Circle," so called because originally de- 
signed as the site for the residence of the governor of 
the State. 

He was married to Miss Emma Mardulia Jackson 
of Virginia, on Nov. 17, 1847, in the city of Balti- 
more, Md. His -wife died Nov. 14, 1876. Two 
children were the issue of this marriage, a son and 
daughter. The son is the Hon. W. E. English, a 
young man of tine promise, now a member of the 
Indiana House of Representatives, being the third of 
the family in lineal descent who has occupied that 
position — father, son, and grandson. The daughter, 
Rosalind, is the wife of Dr. Willoughby Walling, 
an eminent physician of Louisville, Ky., and is the 
mother of two fine boy-babies, William English Wall- 
ing and Willoughby George Walling. 

This history of a successful and active life comprises 
the time up to the year 1877, when Mr. English, 
crowned with success in every undertaking, with a 
political and business record without a blemish, and at 
the very meridian of his powers, sought the retirement 
of private life. But in this retirement Mr. English 
was not unmindful of his country, nor neglectful of 
the interests of the Democratic party, whose principles 
he had espoused in his youth, and whose standard- 
bearer he had been in many a hotly-contested fight. 
Always a close observer of passing events, he con- 
tinued to manifest his deep solicitude for the success 
of the Democratic party, and with his ripe experience 
was ever ready to aid it by his couuisel. 



WILLIAM H, ENGLISH. 363 



CHAPTER lY. 

Tho Democratic National Conventiou of 1880. — The Nomaintion of 
Hancock for President is followed by tliat of English for Vice- 
President. — He la Named by General Petus of Alabama. — Unan- 
imously Nominated. — Mr. English's Speech of Acceptance. 

On the 24th of June, the National Democratic Con- 
vention, in the third day of its session at Cincinnati, 
had nominated Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock for Presi- 
dent, and the choice came upon the proper name to 
complete the ticket in such a way as to render even 
more certain the victory which the first name upon it 
assured. In this contingency there seemed to be but 
one opinion as to the proper candidate to add strength 
and honor to the nomination. The first State called 
upon the roll named William H. English of Indiana. 
This was Alabama. General Petus of that State 
mounted the platform, and spoke as follows : — 

3Tr. President: By the unanimous instructions of the 
delegates from Alabama, and by permission of the delegates 
from the State of Indiana, Alabama nominates William H. 
English of Indiana, We have had a glorious day to-day. 
The Federal army and the Confederate army have met on 
Mason and Dixon's line as one anny. 

Now there is another principle that ought not to be for- 
gotten. You have had assurance from New York of the 
union of the Democracy there. We have heard from Con- 
necticut. We have heard from New Hampshire. Now, 
gentlemen, aided by these fair women from the North, from 



3G4 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER OF 

the East, from the "West, and from the South, you have sung 
together here that grand old question : — 

" Shall auld acquaintance be forgot, 
And never brought to mind ? 
Shall friends all true be remembered not 
In the days of auld lang syne ? " 

Where have we looked for true friends ? Where have we 
had true friends ? Where do we expect true friends ? From 
the glorious State of Indiana. 

The vote was unanimous for Mr. English as the 
roll was called ; and when it came the turn of Indiana, 
Senator Voorhees arose and said : — 

Mr. President, a single word. Indiana has not been an 
applicant for the second place upon this ticket, but is deeply 
gi-ateful, penetrated by a sense of gratitude for the spon- 
taneous expression of confidence in one of her ablest and 
most distinguished citizens, Mr. English. I wou.ld say to 
the Convention that Indiana has not had her place upon the 
Presidential ticket ; but if Mr. English is placed upon that 
ticket, there will be placed there a native of that State of 
commanding capacity for affairs both pubhc and private, 
and a man who was never defeated when his name was 
presented before the people for any position ; nor will he be 
defeated now. I thank the States for their offer of this high 
position to him, and on the part of the delegation from 
Indiana, I ask to cast the vote of that State for Mr. EngUsh, 
her distinguished son. 

The Iowa deleixation announced its choice as that of 
Hon. R. M. Bishop ; but with that exception, the only 
interruption to the continuous balloting was the eulo* 



WILLIiUI II. ENGLISH. 365 

gies of Mr. English which followed with increasing 
fervor. AVhen the end of the list was reached and 
Wisconsin was called, Mr. W. F. Vilas responded, 
taldng the platform : — 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention: I am 
deputed by the last State upon the list, but by no means 
the last in the devotion of her Democrats to the principles 
of the party, to express the great delight with which Wis- 
3onsin seconds the nomination of WiUiam H. English of 
Indiana. In the union of the great soldier-statesman of 
the Democratic party with the great statesman whose name 
is presented now for the second place on the ticket, we see 
the bond of harmon}' exemplified, and to illustrate which 
has been expressed as coming from the State of New York 
the banishment of all discord, and the suppression of all 
division — a radiant bow of promise for this happy land, 
5ti-etching from IMaine to Texas, from the North to the 
South. And when, in the coming election of November, 
the ballots of this free people shall at last place in ofhce its 
men who shall restore peace and happiness to this hitherto 
distracted country, then the summer day of our prosperity 
will rise to its zenith, and like a reaper gathering his bounti- 
ful harvest, the American people will proceed in their career 
of happiness, freedom, and liberty. Then, again, as at the 
beginning of the great Republic and the beginning of the 
world, the sons of God will shout together for joy. Mr. 
President, the order of the Convention is now concluded. 
Might I not, in order, in taking advantage of this opportu- 
nity to relieve the Convention from further labor, move that 
the nomination of William H. English be made unanimous 
by acclamation? 

It was so made unanimous, amid applause and con- 
jrratulations. 



366 LIFE AND PUBLIC CAEEER OF 

The committee appointed to communicate to the 
candidates their official nomination met Mr. English 
at Governor's Island, New York, on the 13th of July, 
where he was the guest of General Hancock. After 
the nomination had been tendered the candidate for 
President, and had been accepted by him, the secre- 
tary of the committee read to Mr. English the fol- 
lowing communication, which was signed by all the 
committee-men : — 

Hon. "William H. English : 

Sir, — By direction of the National Democratic Conven- 
tion, which assembled at Cincinnati on June 22 last, it 
becomes our pleasing duty to notify you that you have been 
unanimously nominated by that body to the office of Vice- 
President of the United States. Your large experience in 
affairs of government, youi* able discharge of many trusts 
committed to your hands, your steadfast devotion to Demo- 
cratic principles, and the uprightness of your private char- 
acter, gave assurances to the Dcmocrac}^ that you were 
worthy and well qualified to perform the duties of that high 
position, and commended you to them for the nomination 
which they conferred. "While your personal qualities and 
your public services well merited this honor, the action of 
the Convention was no doubt designed not only to indicate 
their appreciation of yourself, but as well to testify their 
profound respect for the Democracy of Indiana, yom- native 
State, with whose struggles j-ou have been so long identified, 
and whose glorious achievements you have shared. The 
Convention set forth its views, which are now before the 
people, in a series of resokitions, a copy of which we have 
the honor to present to you, and to which yom- attention is 
respectfully requested. It is our earnest hope that then 



WILLIA^I II. ENGLISH. 367 

views may meet with your approbation, and that you will 
accept the nomination which is now tendered. 

In reply to this communication, Mr. English said : — 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: As a 
practical man of business, not much accustomed to indirect 
ways or circumlocution of speeches, I will say plainly, and 
in a very few words, that I accept the high trust you have 
tendered me, and will at an early day make a more formal 
acceptance in writing, in conformity with the usual custom in 
such cases. In doing this I fully realize the great responsi- 
bihty of this position, the great turmoil and anxiety, the 
misrepresentation and abuse which are certain to follow. I 
understand that the resources and power of our political foes 
of the whole country are to be centred upon us in Indiana, 
my native State, in one of the earliest and probably the 
greatest battles of the campaign. It is an occasion calling 
for the performance of high patriotic duty, not to be declined 
for personal considerations, and I shall not disregard the 
unanimous voice of the representatives of the majority of 
the American people, which you represent here to-day. I 
need hardly say that I am deeply impressed with the action 
of the Convention, and profoundly gratified for the high 
honor confeiTcd upon me ; and I cannot doubt that under 
the favor of God and the people, the great cause we all have 
at heart wUl be successful. I thank you, gentlemen, for the 
very kind and considerate manner in which you have dis- 
charged your duties toward me on this occasion. 

This concluded the formal action, which has made 
Hon. William II. English the candidate of the consti- 
tutional party, for the second highest office in the gift 
of the people. 



3 68 APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



LETTER OF GEN. HANCOCK 

ACCEPTING THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 



Governor's Island, ) 
New York City, July 29, 1880. S 

Gentlemen : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of 3'our letter of July 13, 1880, apprising me formally of my 
nomination to the office of President of the United States by 
the National Democratic Convention, latety assembled in 
Cincinnati. I accept the nomination with grateful apprecia- 
tion of the confidence reposed in me. The principles enun- 
ciated by the Convention are those I have cherished in the 
past, and shall endeavor to maintain in the future. The 
thirteenth, foui'teenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Con- 
stitution of the United States, embodying the results of the 
war for the Union, are inviolable. If called to the Presidency, 
I should deem it 1113' duty to resist, with all of my power, any 
attempt to impair or impede the full force and efiect of the 
Constitution, which in every article, section, and amendment, 
is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution forms the 
basis of the government of the United States. The powers 
granted by it to the legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 
ments, define and limit the authority of the general govern- 
ment. Powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, belong to the 
States respectively, or to the people. The General and State 
governments, each acting i.i its own sphere without trenching 
upon the lawful jurisdiction of the other, constitute the Union. 
This Union, comprising a general government with general 



APPENDIX. 3G9 

powers, and State governments with State powers for pur- 
poses local to the States, is a polity, the foundations of which 
were laid in the profoundest wisdom. This is the Union our 
fathers made, and which has heen so respected abroad and 
so beneficent at home. Tried by blood and fire, it stands 
to-day a model form of free popular government ; a political 
system which, rightly administered, has been, and will con- 
tinue to be, the adimration of the world. May we not sa}", 
nearly in the words of "Washington : ' ' The unity of govern- 
ment, which constitutes us one people, is justly dear to us ; 
it is the main piUar in the edifice of our real independence, 
the support of our peace, safety, and prosperity, and of that 
liberty we so highly prize, and intend at every hazard to pre- 
serve " ? 

But no form of government, however carefully devised, no 
principles, however sound, will protect the rights of the 
people unless the administration is faithful and efficient. It 
is a vital principle in our system that neither fraud nor 
force must be allowed to subvert the rights of the people. 
When fraud, violence, or incompetence controls, the noblest 
constitutions and wisest laws are useless. The baj'onetis not 
a fit instrument for collecting the votes of freemen. It is only 
by a full vote, free baUot, and fair count, that the people can 
rule in fact, as required by the theory of our government. 
Take this foundation away and the whole structure falls. ' 

Public office is a trust, not a bounty bestowed upon the 
holder. No incompetent or dishonest persons should ever be 
entrusted with it, or, if appointed, they should be promptly 
ejected. The basis of a substantial, practical civil-ser\ace 
reform must first be established by the people in filling the 
elective offices. If they fix a high standard of qualifications 
for office, and sternly reject the corrupt and incompetent, the 
result will be decisive in governing the action of the servants 
whom they entrust with the appointing power. 



370 APPENDIX. 

The war for the Union was successfuU}^ closed more than 
fifteen years ago. All classes of our people must share aUke 
in the blessings of the Union, and are equally concerned in 
its perpetuit}" and in the proper administration of public 
affairs. We are in a state of profound peace. Henceforth 
let it be our purpose to cultivate sentiments of friendship, and 
not of animosity, among our fellow-citizens. Our material 
interests, varied and progressive, demand our constant and 
united efforts. A sedulous and scrupulous care of the public 
credit, together with a wise and economical management of our 
governmental expenditures, should be maintained, in order that 
labor may be lightly burdened and that all persons may be 
protected in their rights to the fruits of their own industry. 
The time has come to enjoy the substantial benefits of recon- 
ciliation. As one people we have common interests. Let us 
encourage the harmon}' and generous rivalry among our own 
industries which will revive our languishing merchant marine, 
extend our commerce with foreign nations, assist our mer- 
chants, manufacturers, and producers to develop our vast 
natural resources, and increase the prosperity and happiness 
of our people. 

If elected, I shall, with the Divine favor, labor with what 
ability I possess to discharge my duties with fidelity, accord- 
ing to my convictions, and shall take care to protect and 
defend the Union, and to see that the laws be faithfull}'^ and 
equally executed in all parts of the country alike. I will 
assume the responsibility, fully sensible of the fact that to 
administer rightly the functions of government is to discharge 
the most sacred duty that can devolve upon an American 

citizen. 

I am, respectfully youi*s, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

To the Hon. John "W. Stevenson, PresiJent of the Convention; Hon. John 
P. Stockton, Chairman; and others of the Committee of the National 
Democratic Convention. 



APPENDIX. 371 

LETTER OF HON. WILLIAM H. ENGLISH 

ACCEPTING THE NOMINATION FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. 



Indianapolis, Ind., July 30, 1880. 

Gentlemen : — I "have now the honor to reply to your letter of 
the 13th inst., informing me that I was unanimously nominated 
for the office of Vice-President of the United States b}- the late 
Democratic National Convention which assembled at Cincin- 
nati. As foreshadowed in the verbal remarks made b}^ me at 
the time of the delivery of your letter, I have now to say that I 
accept the high trust, with a realizing sense of its responsi- 
bility, and am profoundly grateful for the honor conferred. 
I accept the nomination upon the platform of principles 
adopted by the Convention, which I cordially approve ; and 
I accept it as much because of my faith in the wisdom 
and patriotism of the great statesman and soldier nominated 
on the same ticket for President of the United States. His 
eminent services to his country' ; his fidelity to the Constitu- 
tion, the Union and the laws ; his clear perception of the 
correct principles of government as taught by Jefferson ; his 
scrupulous care to keep the military in strict subordination to 
the civil authorities ; his high regard for civil liberty, personal 
rights, and the rights of property ; his acknowledged ability 
in civil as well as military affairs ; and his pure and blameless 
life, all point to him as a man worthy of the confidence of 
the people ; not only a brave soldier, a great commander, 
a statesman and a pure patriot, but a prudent, painstaking, 
practical man, of unquestioned honesty ; trusted often with 
important public duties, faithful to every trust, and in the 
full meridian of ripe and vigorous manhood, he is, in my 



372 APPENDIX. 

judgment, eminently fitted for the highest office on earth, — the 
Presidency of the United States. Not only is he the right man 
for the place, but the time has come when the best interests 
of the country require that the party which has monopolized 
the executive department for the last twenty years should be 
retired. The continuance of that part}'^ in power four years 
longer would not be beneficial to the public or in accordance 
with the spirit of our republican institutions. Laws of 
entail have not been favored by our system of government. 
The perpetuation of property or place in one family or set of 
men has never been encouraged in this country, and the great 
and good men who formed our republican government and its 
traditions wisel}^ limited the terms of office and in many ways 
showed their disapproval of long leases of power. Twenty 
years of continuous power is long enough, and has already 
led to irregularities and corruptions which are not likel}' to be 
properly exposed under the same party that perpetrated them ; 
besides, it should not be forgotten that the four last years of 
power held by that part}' were procured by discreditable 
means, and held in defiance of the wishes of a majorit}" of the 
people. It was a grievous wrong to every voter and to our 
system of self-government, which should not be forgotten or 
forgiven. Many of the men now in office were put in because 
of corrupt partisan services in thus defeating the fairly and 
legally expressed will of the majority, and the h3-pocrisy of 
the professions of that party in favor of civil-service reform 
was shown in placing such men in office and turning the whole 
brood of federal office-holders loose to influence the elections. 
The money of the people, taken out of the public treasur}' 
b}^ these men for services often poorlj- performed, or not per- 
formed at all, is being used in vast sums, with the knowledge 
and presumed sanction of the administration, to confc'ol 
elections ; and even the members of the Cabinet are strolling 
about the country making partisan speeches instead of 



APPENDIX. 373 

being in their departments at "Washington discharging the 
public duties for which they are paid by the people. 
But with all their cleverness and ability, a discriminating 
public will, no doubt, read between the lines of their speeches 
that their paramount hope and aim is, to keep themselves and 
their satellites four years longer in office. That perpetuating 
the power of chronic federal office-holders four years longer 
will not benefit the men and women who hold no office, but 
earn their daily bread by honesty and industry, is what the 
same discerning public wiU, no doubt, fally understand ; as 
they will also, that it is because of their own industrj" and 
economy and God's bountiful harvests that the country is 
comparatively prosperous, and not because of anything done 
by these federal office-holders. The country is comparatively 
prosperous, not because of them, but in spite of them. This 
contest is, in fact, between the people endeavoring to regain the 
political power which rightfull}' belongs to them, and to restore 
the pure, simple, economical, constitutional government of our 
fathers on the one side, and a hundred thousand federal 
office-holders and their backers, pampered with place and 
power, and determined to retain them at aU hazards, on the 
other. Hence the constant assumption of new and danger- 
ous powers by the general government, under the rule of the 
Republican part}'. The effort to build up what they call a 
strong government, the interference with home rule and 
with the administration of justice in the courts of the sev- 
eral States, the interference with the elections through the 
medium of paid partisan federal office-holders, interested in 
keeping their party in power, aud caring more for that than 
fah'uess in the elections ; in fact, the constant encroachments 
which have been made by that part}^ upon the clearly 
reserved rights of the people and the States, will, if uot 
checked, subvert the liberties of the people and the govern- 
ment of limited powers created by the fathers, and end in a 



374 APPENDIX. 

great consolidated central government, strong indeed for 
evil, and the overthrow of I'epublicau institutions. The wise 
men who formed our Constitution knew the evils of a strong 
government, and the long continuance of political power 
in the same hands. They knew there was a tendency in this 
dhection in all governments, and consequent danger to repub- 
lican institutions from' that cause, and took pains to guard 
against it. The machinery of a strong centralized general 
government can be used to perpetuate the same set of men in 
power from term to term, until it ceases to be a republic, or 
is such only in name ; and the tendency of the party now in 
power in that direction, as shown in various wa3's besides the 
willingness of a large number of that partjj- to elect a Presi- 
dent an unlimited number of terms, is quite apparent, and 
must satisfy thiulving people that the time has come when it 
will be safest and best for that party to be retired. 

But in resisting the encroachments of the general govern- 
ment upon the reserved rights of the people and the States, I 
wish to be distinctly understood as favoring the proper exer- 
cise by the general government of the powers rightfully 
belonging to it under the Constitution. Encroachments 
upon the constitutional rights of the general government, or 
interference with the proper exercise of its powers, must 
be carefully avoided. The union of States under the Consti- 
tution must be maintained ; and it is well known that this has 
alwaj-s been the position of both the candidates on the Demo- 
cratic Presidential ticket. It is acquiesced in ever_y*where now, 
and finally and foi'ever settled as one of the results of the war. 
It is certain, bej'oud all question, that the legitimate results 
of the war for the Union will not be overthrown or impaired 
should the Democratic ticket be elected. In that event, prop- 
er protection will be given in ever}'' legitimate way to every 
citizen, native or adopted, in every section of the republic, in 
the enjoyment of all the rights guaranteed by the Constitu- 
tion and its amendments. 



APPENDIX. 375 

A sound currency of honest money, of a value and pur- 
chasing power corresponding substantially with the standard 
recognized by the cominercial world, and consisting of gold 
and silver and paper convertible into coin, will be main- 
tained. The labor and manufacturing, commercial and busi- 
ness interests of the country will be favored and encoiu-- 
aged in every legitimate way. The toUing millions of our 
people wUl be protected from the destructive competition of 
the Chinese ; and to that end their immigration to our shores 
will be properly restricted. The public credit wiU be scrupu- 
lously maintained and strengthened by rigid economy in 
public expenditures ; and the liberties of the people and the 
property of the people wiU be protected by a government of 
law and order, administered strictly in the interests of aU the 
people, and not of corporations and privileged classes. 

I do not doubt the discriminating justice of the people and 
their capacity for intelligent self-government, and therefore 
do not doubt the success of the Democratic ticket. Its suc- 
cess would bury beyond resurrection the sectional jealousies 
and hatreds which have so long been the chief stock in trade 
of pestiferous demagogues ; and in no other way can this be 
so effectually accomplished. It would restore harmony and 
good feeling between aU the sections, and make us in fact, as 
well as in name, one people. The only rivalry then would 
be in the race for the development of material prosperity, 
the elevation of labor, the enlargement of human rights, the 
promotion of education, morality, religion, liberty, order, and 
aU that would tend to make us the foremost nation of the 
earth in the grand march of human progress. 
I am, with great respect, 

Very truly yours, 

William II. English. 

To the Hon. John W. Stevensox, President of the Convention; the Hon. 
John P. Stockton, Chairman; and other members of the Committee of 
Notification. 



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